


Lost

by MoonCrown



Series: Not All Who Wander [1]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Gen, Mystery, Reader-Insert, Slow Build, Tolkien Legendarium, kind of, very complicated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-19
Updated: 2015-04-13
Packaged: 2018-01-09 07:59:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 25,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1143504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonCrown/pseuds/MoonCrown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not all who wander are lost, but you might just be. </p><p>The world has changed and much that was is now lost. However lost things have a tendency to be found sooner or later, even if no one knows what they have found. </p><p>You don't know if you are lost, or if you have lost something. Maybe you have never had something, or someone, to lose. Have someone maybe lost you? Perhaps, but you don't know. It is hard to remember without any memories.</p><p>Chapter 22: Dwarves have arrived in Rivendell!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Suddenly you know you are awake, consciousness washing over you like a wave. It only takes half a second to take a deep breath and fill your lungs with fresh air. The sound of water drifting fills your ears and you also seem to hear some birds chirping in a distance.

With your newfound awareness you feel how the soft grass underneath you caresses the skin on your arms and legs. You also become aware of how very warm and comfortable the air is, which makes you smile a tiny bit. The smile is however replaced with a wince when you attempt to move your arms above your head to stretch; your entire body is extremely stiff. A soft breeze also makes you conscious of how very damp and cold your clothes are. The sudden chillness makes you turn to one side and curl your legs closer to your body with a shudder. Your body protests, but it’s so cold! What happened to the warmth from before?

With a soft groan you decide to investigate and force your eyes open. Your eyes tears up at the sudden brightness and you have to blink several times before you can see clearly. With great effort you push yourself into sitting position and gaze at your surroundings.

You rub your eyes carefully while taking in the scenery.

A black river runs less than a meter in front of you. Startled you furrow your brows and you bring your legs closer to yourself; you don’t want to be anywhere near that water with your feet. Confounded you notice that except for the river, you are entirely surrounded by a very green, yet very dark forest. The deeper you look into the forest the more convinced you become that something not very pleasant is lurking there. A small shred of fear starts to grow in your stomach and you decide that it is probably a good idea to move from here.

Using all your strength you stand up on shaky legs and start walking by the riverbanks.


	2. Chapter 2

You had ignored it at first, how sharp stones and dried twigs had scraped and pierced your bare feet, but it became harder and harder to do so by the second. You almost gave out a scream when you accidently stepped on a particularly unstable and sharp stone at the size of your fist, but at the last moment you bit your tongue and swallowed the sound. You stopped walking for a moment to suck in air. The skin on your feet had fortunately not broken, but you couldn’t deny it anymore, your feet hurt.

While standing still, you lifted your head towards the sun. It had become warmer during your walk, but sometimes clouds covered the shining light above you and the air immediately grew colder. You don’t want it to become colder, you rather enjoy the warmth. You sigh as you drop your head and embrace your upper body with your arms trying to warm yourself up, or perhaps to make yourself feel a bit safer? You’re not sure.

You start to walk again. The pain is not gone even a little bit, but you are convinced that it somehow is necessary. You don’t know where your strong resolution comes from and you don’t care, all you want is to get out of this forsaken forest and away from that horrible river.

You are wearing two pieces of garments. The most apparent one is the white dress that covers your shoulders and falls until it reaches just above your knees. Underneath the dress you wear a pair of very tight and short pants that reaches halfway down your thighs. They were still damp and extremely uncomfortable to walk in, and it was beginning to be more than just a small nuisance. At this point it would probably be easier to just continue without them.

You hold that thought a little while. The dress had dried while you had been walking, maybe you _should_ take off the shorts? _Yes_ , you think, _it would be nice if they were dry_.   

Without a second thought you hold up the end of the dress with your mouth and try to pry the pants off you. It is harder than you anticipated and you nearly trip over when you needlessly try to push them down your legs without unbuttoning them first. Your fingers fumble with the small buttons and you are slightly annoyed that you can’t see what you are doing because of the dress. Calming down you finally manage to take them off, but as you reach down to pick them up you discover, in a not so very pleasant way, that you still were standing on it. You barely suppress a shriek when you lose your balance and crash to the ground.

You didn’t, however, suppress your shriek when you saw an arrow shot just above you, almost gracing your hair.

You did not need another initiative to start running.


	3. Chapter 3

Crawl, duck, run, but never stand still. Everything hurts, but you keep on moving. The arrow had come from the forest slightly behind you, right? You look behind you; nothing is there but trees and branches. Your left foot stumble on a big rock, you bite down the scream. Some of your toenails had almost gotten torn off, but you ignore it, the fear of getting hit by an arrow stronger than the pain. Tears are prickling your eyes and your sight becomes somewhat blurry. You blink furiously to clear your vision again; you don’t want to die because of a rock!

You look at your right, maybe you should run into the forest? That’s where the arrow came from, but surely it is harder to fire an arrow if the target is running between trees?

You throw a look behind your shoulder. There was nothing there. You inhale deeply before plunging yourself into an opening in the forest.

Suddenly it’s very cool, the leaves are thick and the light barely reaches the ground. You twist and turn every time you think you hear something or see something move. Panic is slowly growing inside of you. The lack of space is suffocating and not being able to see your attacker is terrifying.

You don’t understand. What is it you don’t understand? You don’t understand the forest or the river. You don’t understand the pain you are feeling in your chest as you breathe and you most certainly don’t understand the water coming from your eyes. Have you broken somewhere? Are your eyes about to burst? To your horror the thought and fear of losing your eyes made your eyes leak even more.

Your legs give in under you and you put your hands in front of yourself to soften the fall. You look at your legs and you simply _don’t understand._ While you were running it had felt as if they were burning, yet now they look completely normal.

Something rustles behind you. You turn your head at the sound, but nothing is there.

You stand up again, ignoring your shaky legs.

The same rustle is heard again, no wait, there wasn’t just one this time. You try to look around but all you see are bushes and trees an-…

You scream.


	4. Chapter 4

Elwion Stumblefoot hated his nickname. It was hardly a fitting name for an elf, he thought, because even though he was a bit clumsier than the average _elf_ he was hardly _actually_ clumsy. Of course, something like that didn't exactly matter when everyone around you was, in fact, graceful elves, or simply _not_ clumsy elves. That's why Elwion much enjoyed watching other races, in particular –this was a well-kept secret he never would confess out loud –dwarfs. He had, naturally, not seen many dwarfs since the fall of Erebor, and to be honest – yet another thing he would never ever confess –he even missed the short folk sometimes. 

Since Elwion was often teased by the other elves (and much older elves he thought sourly to himself) he much preferred to be alone. Now this was a bit of an issue while living in Mirkwood these dark days since it never was safe to be alone in the woods, but sometimes the young elf simply didn't care. The others could just blame it on his impulsiveness as an _elfling,_ he thought, since they enjoyed calling him such all the time. The embarrassment was almost unbearable, wasn't it enough they insisted on calling him Stumblefoot?! He was well over 400 years old already; he was hardly an elfling anymore.

This particular day was one of those days when it actually became unbearable, even more so than usually, and in a fit of rage (which only made his comrades laugh) he turned around from the training field and (rather gracelessly, much to the amusement of the others) made his way home.

To be fair his comrades and the others elves in the King’s Halls didn't know how their mild teasing affected their friend, nor were they aware of his lonely (and dangerous) ventures in the dark forest. In their eyes, he was still the youngest of them all and he was very dear to them, but he was also unusually _open_ for an elf and his reactions were so guileless and honest they couldn't help themselves. Young ones were scarce in what once was called the Greenwood Forest, and they didn't want him to change.

This, however, was of little to no comfort for Elwion (partly because he never realized it himself) when he went to fetch his bow and arrows. He almost blamed the items themselves for forgetting them before he left for the training grounds. Stumblefoot and elfling were quite enough, he wouldn't fancy being called _forgetful_ as well. 

The only thing he had to ease his embarrassment was the fact that despite being called Stumblefoot, he still always managed to slip passed the guards and scouts unnoticed (albeit with great effort and less than ungainly moves). He was also very smug about it, but he obviously couldn't tell anyone or his rare moments of solitude would come to an end. Knowing this made it, without a doubt, easier to stand the teasing but it still would have been nice for someone else to also acknowledge it. He was an elf after all, and pride is a trait that was widely shared amongst his race. It didn't help at all that his infamous clumsiness seemed to come forth every time someone was there to see. He sighed to himself as he realized it wasn't strange at all that people thought of him as a Stumblefoot, because it seemed it was only when he was alone he became even fairly elegant. _All the better reason to be alone then,_ he thought as he once again slid passed the borders of safety.

* * *

When he reached the black river he knew that he had gone too far. Many spiders had their nests near the dark water and he knew it was unsafe to even in broad daylight. He stayed near the riverbank but kept hidden in the nearest trees. He was just about to turn around and head back when he saw her.

She was small against the big trees and menacing river, but her white dress stuck out like a sore thumb, making it more than a little eye-catching for an elf. 

He stared in shock for a second and then he frowned.

Her clothes were wet, she had been enchanted by the river, there were no doubts about it. What he was curious about was why and how a young girl came to be in Mirkwood at all, and how she got out of the water. The river made anyone who drinks or bathe in it fall into a deep slumber and _oblivion._ If she had fallen asleep in the river, and it did seem that way with her clothes all wet and her hair damp, it was a wonder the girl had not drowned.

Her hair, he noted, was unusually short for a girl, even for her age. The dark locks were cut above her shoulders and as they dried they curled around her ears. Her dress was also an oddity as it was ripped just above her knees showing her legs. He absently wondered if she had ripped it so that it would be easier to walk in -curious thing for a child that small. Perhaps her parents, or whoever brought her here, had done it for her after a sign of danger?

So many questions.

She was still for a while, not standing up. He almost wanted to go to her and see if she was injured. It was not in his nature to ignore beings in need of help, but he knew that King Thranduil wouldn't be happy if he brought a stranger back with him, especially since he wasn't supposed to be outside the halls in the first place. Maybe he could just follow her for a while and make sure she got out of the wood safely?

He sighed in defeat. It wasn't possible to venture through the forest with the time that was left of the day. That, and he couldn't possibly guide her safely through without being seen. Had she been an elf like him it would have been different, but she was not and dejected he realized that the chances of her surviving the night this close to the spiders’ nests were close to zero. Her steps were careful and slow, and he could see she was in pain. His heart ached while he watched her. Surely the others would not blame him if he saved her; she was naught but a child! A child of man certainly, her rounded ears revealed as much, but still.

He continued to keep an eye on her and followed her as she walked by the river. He was pleased that she, unbeknownst to herself, was walking towards the elf-path. Maybe she would find the small hidden pathway of his people and perhaps be found by someone else of his kin. Yes, he decided, that would be the best course of action. He would make sure that the girl would be found and secured. Even if she at first would be seen as a threat they would surely discover she was none of the sort (or at least he hoped so) and she would be safe.

The elf was very careful to keep a safe distance between them, watching her back from afar behind trees. When she suddenly stopped he froze, what was she- oh, she was undressing?He supposed it was only logical, it was never comfortable to walk around in wet clothing.

It was at that very moment he saw the second something at the corner of his eye –a spider.

He cursed under his breath. How long had that spider been in front of him, trailing her?! For a moment he really believed he deserved every name anyone had ever called him.

It was a small spider, only about 1 foot, but its venom was strong and he knew that the girl wouldn't stand a chance with her small body.

Swiftly he took and arrow from his quiver and bent his bow. The spider crept closer to her and as she bent down to fetch her garment he released the arrow.

It went straight through the unknowing spider and flew on just above the girls head.

He was very pleased with himself until he realized the girl had noticed the arrow but not the spider and was now running with all her might away from him.

They were so close to the pathway, what if she ran past it? Everything would be ruined! Quickly he put his bow over his shoulder and sprinted after her. She couldn't run very fast as her feet was in pain, and she was limping, but he had kept a good distance and he almost lost her sometimes. In his head, he cursed in both Sindarin and Westron when they passed the pathway and winced when he saw how she hurt her foot.

Suddenly she threw a look over her shoulder, and he almost thought she had seen him. Then, just as sudden as the glance, she plunged herself into the forest.

He almost cursed out loud this time; she was heading straight into the spiders’ webs!

Stupid human, was she really worth risking his life for? Should he leave her to the spiders?

Groaning he knew it wasn't an option, he had scared her and if he only had approached her before she started walking they both would have been safe by now. He shuddered at the thought of how his people, and more importantly his king, would react when he revealed the human and his secret adventures. He didn't look forward to it.  

She slowed down and fell. Hadn't it been for the horror in her eyes and trembling body, he would've been relieved. He stopped for a moment to think of what he should do next, he could hardly stay hidden anymore if he wanted to help her.

The answer was given to him when three spiders, two of them about 1 foot and the third almost 2 feet, approached her.

He had never heard a more horrified scream. In the blink of an eye, he shot down the two smaller spiders and sprinted until he was shielding her with his dagger in hand. In a swift move, he slashed its eyes and then proceeded with stabbing its body, the spider didn't have much time to react but managed to slice the elf’s left arm with one of its legs. Heated Elwion pushed the dagger deeper into the beast and when it twitched a few times he twisted the dagger until it was dead.  

It was only a matter of time before more of them came, her scream would surely have been heard miles across the woodland. He hastily recovered his arrows and ignoring the girl’s wide and terrified eyes (they were deep blue, but now was not the time for such observations) lifted her up with his right arm, carrying her, before running back to the pathway.

Thank Valar she was so small and feather light, she couldn't possibly be taller than 5 feet.

He could feel she was petrified, not particularly strange seeing as she was hanging down a stranger’s arm, but right now he didn't have the time to be concerned about her mental state. The most important thing was that they stayed alive, and staying alive right now included finding the help of his kin.

Elwion Stumblefoot was indeed a bit clumsier than the average elf, but he had his heart in the right place and even though he didn't know it, he had slain those spiders with such elegance and effectively that it would have made the most graceful elf back in the King’s Halls jealous.

 


	5. Chapter 5

It all happened so fast. You had seen those disgusting creatures appearing in front of you. You remember thinking that nothing should have that many eyes or legs. At first the scream had been stuck in your throat, in fact it had felt as if you had become stone for a brief moment, but then those wile creatures had clenched their jaws and the sound that escaped your mouth made you fall over again. Just as sudden as they had appeared arrows pierced two of them and their blood splattered on your face.   

After that it was all a blur.

There had been a flash of light hair, the sound of a knife slashing, more blood and suddenly a short second of silence. Then, even before you could comprehend what had happened, an arm grabbed you by your waist and lifted you from the dirty ground.

You felt sick, but fear had you petrified.

Your eyes refused to focus, but sometimes you saw glimpses of multiply eyes and hairy black legs. Sometimes you heard the light haired being that carried you let out a gasp of pain. In your haze you could not decipher what had caused it, but it made your heart clench in horror. Every time he stumbled, only a little bit, you thought it would be your end and when he finally fell all hope was lost.

The being had sheltered you when he fell, putting all his weight on his arm instead of putting it on you. You were pressed underneath him and you realized with wide eyes that he was still trying to protect you.

His light blue eyes met yours and you felt his grief and terror.

It was a sudden understanding between the two of you. Both of you were filled with fear of death yet in that moment when he clenched his jaw while holding you closer you just knew how lucky you were to have met someone like him. Your eyes hurt and again you felt how they leaked. This time you did not care, but simply closed them in acceptance. You could hear how the beasts were closing in; they were in no hurry anymore for their preys were defenseless now. With shaky arms you hugged your almost savior closer, trying to preserve a final moment of relative safety before death claimed you.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

Beridhren Voronwe was one of the oldest and most experienced scouts and warriors in the woodland realm. In his life he had seen many things and faced many dangers, yet only a handful of those could compare to the icy horror that filled him when he saw the youngling of the King’s Halls lying on the forest floor hurt and defenseless against a dozen spiders. They were slowly and gleefully surrounding Elwion’s form and he realized, though it did little to lessen his dread, that the creatures had not noticed him and his band of scouts. 

In less than a second he had jumped down from his post and let out a fierce whistle to signal the others. They had to hurry.

* * *

When Bereneth Beridhreniel heard her father- no, her _captain’s_ call, she had already noticed the spider’s movements and had placed herself high up in a tree with good sight at the young one. She bent her bow with a swift movement prepared to shot anything that come close to him.

She forced her beating heart to calm and awaited her captain’s battle signal – which usually was an arrow buried in the enemy’s dead body.

* * *

 

Asgaron Lamenion and Thaleth Lameniel both knew their positions; to cover the left and right side of the assault on ground. Though before separating Thaleth still threw a quick and sharp look at her brother. Asgaron answered her small warning with rolling eyes, yet kept himself serious, he was not going to risk Elwion’s life with his thirst for battle and was slightly annoyed that his sister still thought him incapable of understanding a serious situation when he was met with one. When she saw his response she offered him an apologetic smile before disappearing behind a tree and he hurried to also put himself in position.

This was not like other battles between them and Ungoliat’s offspring, this was a rescue mission, and Asgaron would rather curse upon the Valar than let their youngest kin be murdered by those abominations.

With that in mind he followed his sister’s example, though in the other direction, and prepared for combat.

* * *

 

He could scarcely believe it when he heard the whistle in the distant, a tiny shade of hope started to grow in his stomach. The girl was tucked underneath him and he swore that he would keep her safe until help came, even if he were to die in the process. His left arm was severely hurt and at one time while he was running a small spider had bit him and while its poison was weaker than a full grown spider it was still enough to make him fall in feebleness but he still readied himself in case there was something he could do when the patrol made themselves rudely known to the enemies.

Though even in this situation Elwion could not help but to realize, with much disenchantment, that this incident forever would pin him to the name Stumblefoot –if he survived that is. If it had not been for the fact that he was scared stiff by the coming threat he probably would have groaned and buried his face in the moss in embarrassment.

 


	7. Chapter 7

He tensed above you and you knew your time was up. You clenched his shirt even tighter and braced yourself for the incoming impact for you could hear how one of the bigger multi legged beasts rushed towards you.

It never came.

Instead you heard the whistling sound of an arrow and the surprised shriek of the monster before it fell hard on the ground next to you and your light rescuer.

You did not dare open your eyes, and still the sickening fear had your body in a tight grip, but in all of that despair you found a little glimpse of hope. It was so small and barely present, almost as if it was not from within yourself you found it at all, yet it was there now although you were hesitant to clench to it in case it was false and would cheat you out of a quick and painless death.

Soon however the air was filled with excruciating screeches and both horrified and confounded you heard how one by one the spiders dropped from their positions, in the trees and their webs, to the ground. Then the swift sound of arrow souring came to an end and was switched with slashing and roars of anger.

You were not sure how long time had gone when suddenly everything became deathly silent.

The smell of the creatures’ blood had filled the air and finally sickness took over. You panicked. Something disgusting pushed its way up your throat and you could not possibly swallow it and you could not breathe. Was this dying? So painful, so painful! You could not get up, your rescuer were still heavy above you and he did not budge. Was he dead? Terror struck you again and you tried to scream and kick an-…

The light being was all of a sudden off of you and by pure reflex you turned around to face the ground when another wave of sickness came over you. You let out a mixture of a shaky breath and a wince.

Soft and melodic voices were speaking around you in an unfamiliar tongue. You did not dare to move. Somehow you just _knew_ one of them was highly concerned for you, and at the same time another, who was ridiculously similar yet different from the first one, was angry with you for some reason that was unknown. Then there was a third presence that was very displeased with the behavior of the first two and at last a forth who was highly relieved that your savior was going to be well.

The impressions were almost blinding but it was the fifth and final voice that snapped you back to reality, your light creature was speaking! He was not dead after all!

Joyous you turned around and immediately crawled towards him on your knees. You ignored the painful throbbing of your wounded foot and you did not even notice the others, not even the one tending to your rescuer, when you made your way towards him.

He was sitting uptight now though his left arm was soaked in blood which made you furrow your brows in concern when you reached him. With careful movements you shakily reached for him. You hugged his torso softly and rested your forehead on his chest. Involuntarily a small whimper escaped you.

You were still frightened and still did not know what to believe about anything, but when he shifted his healthy arm and carefully caressed your hair with his hand while whispering soft words of comfort in your ear you felt safer than you had for as long as you could remember.

You tried your hardest to ignore that your memory only went a few hours back.


	8. Chapter 8

They all stood still for a while when the battle was over and sharpened their senses to make sure that there wasn't any more spiders close by. That’s when they heard the choking noises coming from the young elf in the middle of the circle they had created while fighting, or rather, from _underneath_ him.

The elves’ heads all turned quickly at the sound, but it was Beridhren who moved first when the noise turned to panicked shrieks. Carefully yet swiftly he grabbed Elwion and lifted him from the ground. Beridhren was the only one whose eyes did not widen in shock as a small girl appeared in front of them, shaking in fear and nausea.

Beridhren gave Bereneth a silent nod and then turned his focus on Elwion and the youngling’s injuries. The elf received her father’s message and let her eyes fall on the girl.

She was breathing heavily, facing the forest floor, and did not seem to be a threat. Her white dress was ripped and quite frankly not very white anymore. Bereneth furrowed her brows, what was a child of man, a girl in particular, doing in Mirkwood? Something was not as it should.

“She might be hurt”, Thaleth voiced with concern, lowering her sword, “shouldn't we aid her?”

“Let her be hurt! Why should we help her?” Asgaron snarled in anger, “don't you, it's  because of her Elwion was hunted!”

Thaleth shot her brother a piercing glare, “she's a child, Asgaron. Don't be so quick to pass judgment.”

Her brother smiled scornfully “she's a child of men _,_ _Miluithel,_ Elwion’s life is worth hundreds of her kind!”

“That is enough!” both siblings turned their heads at Bereneth hard command, her grey eyes were sharp and Asgaron dropped his enraged gaze to the ground with an angry ‘tch’. “The captain has tended to him; he's not in any danger”. At her words Asgaron hastily turned around and true enough Elwion seemed to be waking up in the arms of their captain. At the same time Taleth on met Bereneth’s look calmly and wordlessly Bereneth gave her permission to approach the little one. Though before she could move they heard a soft voice and stilled. 

“She… is not a threat… please”, it was Elwion who struggled to sit up straight “I found her… by… the enchanted river… couldn't… leave her to the spiders…”

“Don't speak, youngling”, Beridhren said and supported his back when he tried to sit, “you will be well, but-…”

He stopped mid-sentenced when the girl stirred in their direction.

Thaleth silently stopped Asgaron from interfering when the little one hastily crawled towards Elwion with an almost desperate expression, and Thaleth winced on the inside when she saw the girl’s damaged foot. The girl however didn't seem to take notice to anyone but the youngest elf and the others, even Asgaron, watched in puzzlement as she embraced him.

Elwion knew he would have to explain everything soon, but until then he simply closed his eyes wearily and stroked her hair softly with his undamaged hand, “you are safe now… little one”, he cooed softly, “you needn’t be frightened… anymore.”

Bereneth let herself soften by the sight and sighed, but when she turned to her father she knew something was amiss. He was staring intensely at the girl and he was deeply troubled by something. The siblings would surely not notice Beridhren’s inner turmoil, but Bereneth was his daughter, and she knew her father as well as she knew herself and even though he looked unaffected by the girl she could tell by the small, almost unnoticeable crease between his eyes that he was deeply perplexed and somewhat troubled. He did however not give her the slightest hint that the issue should be addressed and therefore she decided she would ask him later what exactly was on his mind. Bereneth knew to trust her father’s judgment, and he did not deem the girl to be a threat and neither did she, but his reaction made her straighten up and stay alert. You could never be too sure after all.

With that in mind she silently watched as her father helped Elwion to his feet and how the girl insistently held on to him. She had shifted her arms and were now holding him around his neck and wrapping her legs around his torso. Elwion flinched slightly when he finally stood up, but refused to let the girl go when Beridhren offered to take her. Instead he held her closer with his right arm and proceeded carrying her when they started to walk.

Asgaron was furious of course, but Thaleth held him in line, “it's not your concern, brother”, she had whispered quietly in his ear, “Elwion chose to save her, which was right of him. We have never been taught to ignore those in need, and he even though he is young he is no fool.”

This made Asgaron snort, but he refrained from speaking.

The journey back to the King’s Halls was a quiet journey indeed after that. The girl kept her head tucked in Elwion’s neck, Elwion carried her while miserably looking on the ground, Beridhren stayed close to him in case he needed support and Bereneth held a close eye on the girl. None of the siblings felt like speaking either, but Asgaron sometimes threw a dirty look that the girl’s curly head though be stopped after a while when he realized she did not see them anyway. Then he simply ignored her existence all together and continued walking with an expressionless face just like the others.  


	9. Chapter 9

As the fear started to subside you relaxed in your rescuer’s embrace. Your foot was throbbing rather painfully, but you were too drained to care. You could not even bring yourself to care, although you did have a slight unsettled feeling somewhere deep in your stomach, that you had no idea where these beings were taking you. A part of you wearily figured anything would be better than with the monsters or the water.

Exhaustion took fully hold of you and you where lulled to sleep by the sound of drizzling leaves and the soft movements of the one carrying you.

* * *

 

_She was running barefoot swiftly between the thin trees, a joyous grin on her face. Her dark long dark hair was flying behind her sometimes catching leaves and flowers in it. Her dress consisted of several layers of a thin white fabric that danced around her as she ran. You could not see her face clearly, only that grin, but it made you happy somehow, the whole scenario._

_It felt so familiar, so safe… the endless green leafs above you and the singing birds, so impossibly familiar it almost ached…_

* * *

 

Your eyes snapped open when you heard melodic voices again and even more so than before. Carefully you lifted you’re a head a little to gaze over the shoulder you had rested your head on. You were still in the forest, but this part seemed to be much brighter and peaceful than the one you remember. It made your heart ease a little bit and you dared to look for the owners of the beautiful voices.

At first you only saw three of those from earlier and you took your time to observe them a little bit, though you tried to do this cautiously. 

The one closest to you had brown hair, a bit too dark to be called hazelnut, which was pulled in a long braid you could not see clearly because it fell behind her back. As if she had felt you watch her she shifted her gaze and met your eyes. You would have cowered back, but she did not seem angry or even the slightest annoyed at catching you staring, so you simply continued to study her. They were almost like your rescuer’s sky blue eyes, but hers were lighter and almost a little grey. Her clothes and pretty much the others’ clothes as well, though with small variation, almost melted with the forest. They had earthly colors, darker shades of brown and green, and were shaped in a manner that reminded you of tree stems and most of all different kinds of leaves.

You turned you attention to the two further away. They were remarkably similar in looks, with their auburn hair and identical height, though one was female and the other male. You ducked a little bit when you were met with a fierce glare from the male, but had to suppress a small giggle when the female took hold of one of the thin braids that fell in front of his ear, and pulled it. He scowled angrily at her, but she simply gave him a warning glace before letting go of his hair. Then she turned to you and smiled kindly, and you suddenly felt a little shy. The male rolled his eyes and then still looked at you as if he had eaten something sour. You decided he was not a very nice person.

That is when you turned you attention to the voices again. They did not come from any of the three behind you, or the one holding you, and it did confound you a bit. Until you realized they were coming from the trees.

Your eyes snapped wide open and indeed, there, both above grounds in the trees and behind them, you could make out hidden figures. They were speaking to each other yet it felt as if their eyes were fixed on you. Were they speaking of you? Giggles and whispers echoed softly between the trees and the more you glanced into the woods the more movements and shapes you could distinguish. What were these beings?

In your fascination you had not noticed the sound of water running strongly, nor how you had stopped, until you were suddenly turned to face your carrier. You blinked a few times when you met his light blue eyes yet again. He said something unfamiliar to you and nodded his head towards something you had to turn a bit to see…-

The sight made you reflexively squeak and clutch him tighter.

There in front of you was a thin stone bridge with no railing and a strong current running far below it. Were you going to have to pass over _that?!_ Oh no, you _refuse!_

He tried to calm you down, you think, but you were quite busy making sure he could not take you over that horrifying death trap by letting go of his torso and clinging to his legs. Immediately the fifth being, the one you had not seen before since he was walking in front of you instead of behind, hunched down and touched you lightly on your shoulders, as to still you. Also the not-very-nice person came and supported your carrier so he would not fall while you so insistently refused to let of his legs.

When the fifth one spoke to you however, you stopped struggling. He looked kindly at you, and said something while gesturing for you to look up and you did. Guilt crept up inside of you when you realized your friend’s arm was awfully injured and you remembered the moment you almost had though he was dead. Regretfully you met the fifth’s grey eyes, he did not look angry much to your relief, and you let go of the legs. However, you still had no intention what so ever to pass that poor excuse of a bridge and you crawled as far away from it as you dared with obvious displeasure.

They spoke amongst themselves a few lines and even though you did not understand what they were saying, it became quite clear that your blonde friend was going first as the female with the long braid took over from the not-so-nice person and led your blonde over the bridge. You were horrified of the fact that he had carried you all that way; you had even fallen asleep, when he obviously was in a very bad condition, though those thoughts were quickly shoved away when the fifth looked at you expectantly.

_Uh oh, no way, you did not agree to this._

He sighed and again hunched down in front of you, speaking softly and also glancing at your almost ripped toenails. You scowled; you did not even understand it, why did they think a little singingly-talk would make matters better?

At you response he turned to the red haired female, who did seem very nice, said something to her and then stood up and walked hastily walked over _it._ Now when you took a closer look as to what was on the other side of the bridge, you could see an enormous stone gate leading into… the ground? Well, it did not matter, you were not getting there. Anyway, you looked very suspiciously at the nice person when she sat down in front of you.

She had a very nice smile, you decided, and you also decided she indeed was a very nice person when she let her own cape fall on your shoulder. You had not even noticed the air had grown chilly until you got warm again, but then she nodded at the bridge and then held out her arms. You almost wanted to cry when you wildly shook your head, you did not want to! She spoke then and tried to soothe you by lightly stoking your cheek and making you look into her eyes; they were strikingly green, but not nearly enough to make you change your mind. She had patience though; you absently wondered if that was why the fifth had left you to her. You were inclined to trust her, but you did not think any amount of trust would make you willingly…-

An impatient growl was heard behind you, and before either you or the very-nice person could react you were hurled from the ground and shipped to the bridge. You screamed and you kicked but the not-so-very-nice person, whom you now named the horrible _creature,_ simply led on and even laughed as he did so. In the middle of the thin trail he lifted you higher and threw you…- you were going to die, you were certain of it. The fear was painful and your voice was stuck in your throat, you barely registered when he caught you again and even had the nerve to look smug at your apparent distress.

He held you with both his arms and reflexively you wrapped your short legs around his waist holding his shoulders in an iron grip. But as soon as you returned to your senses, or at least half of them, you immediately kicked and hit him as hard as you could, as many times as you could. Your anger and frustration only grew as he laughed, your effort having no effect on a strong warrior such as he. Tears started to gather in your eyes.

Then the very-kind person came, but she did not look very kind anymore, fire glazing in her eyes. Her voice was dangerous as she spoke and when she hit him over the head, it _hurt._ Instantly she turned to you, with a compassionate expression and you gratefully let her scope you in her arms. Then she turned to the horrible creature again, growled, and while he was still rubbing his head she took hold of his bow and in one swift motion tripped him off his feet and dropped the bow on top of his fallen form.

You smiled in triumph and hugged the very-very-nice lady closer. She looked at you fondly before walking through the gate with you. What also made it sweeter was the giggles and laughter heard from the others in the woods and even by the guards by the gate.

Perhaps this day was not so horrible after all.


	10. Chapter 10

He liked Elwion; he really did, kind of, but no matter what his sister said Asgaron still thought the young elf was a fool.

First and foremost one does not venture alone in Mirkwood, simple. It is the height of foolishness to sneak out first from the King’s Halls and then past the boarders of their settlement, without even telling anyone. It is common sense for goodness sake! Also, what was he thinking risking his life for a mortal? They were going to die anyway; it would hardly matter if one of them met her inevitable fate sooner than later.

He resisted the urge to snort when his captain hunched down in front of the pathetic little girl trying to convince her to pass the bridge. In his opinion she was hardly worth it, clinging to Elwion’s legs like a parasite, he did not understand why they did not simply knock her out and spare themselves the trouble.

When she finally did let go and crawled away from the edge he did not even bother to hide his distain. She was an utterly pitiful creature, and filthy, on top of that.

“Bereneth, take Elwion to the healers”, Asgaron was snapped out of his musings at his captains command and gently passed Elwion over to Bereneth’s secure hands. Elwion hardly acknowledged the change but let her lead him over to the other side in silence.

Annoyed he watched as Beridhren once again kneeled down in front of the girl, trying to soothe her into cooperation. “We can carry you over, little one, you need not further your injury by walking”, he said softly, only to have her scowl in response. It took Asgaron much restraint not to growl in anger: what an ungrateful _brat_.

Sighing in defeat his captain stood up and turned to the other female in the company, “Thaleth, when she calms, tend to her injuries,” he said, “and prepare her for an audience with the king in the evening.”

 _For the love of all that is good!_ His fingers twitched with the need to hit something, his sister was a warrior and was not meant to serve a mere mortal like some sort of hand-maiden. Surely even she would have some objection to _that._

Thaleth did not object however but simply gave her captain a nod accompanied with a small smile before turning her attention to the figure on the ground. Of course she did not object, Asgaron thought sourly, his sweet sister was a gentle soul and enjoyed to serve others, but it was wrong of Beridhren to take advantage of it.

After the old warrior had disappeared into the King’s Halls he crossed his arms and glanced at the scene of his sister and the girl. The small wild child had calmed down considerable, which was only natural seeing Thaleth’s friendly nature, but still only shook her head frantically when offered to carry her.

That was the final straw.

Growling he took a few steps forward grabbed the girl and went for the bridge. Her obvious distress made him smirk in amusement. She had ruined his day after all; she might as well make up for it with some entertainment.

“We are a strong race, little wild child; we would never drop anything on accidents!” He laughed, “see, I could even throw you up like this…” her scream was like birdsong in his ears, “and then catch you just as easily, that was not so bad, was it?”

Her reaction made him laugh louder and he did not even mind that she held him in such an iron grip. He found it most amusing that the little wildling seemingly had lost all of her earlier resolve and smirked down at her as she started to regain her senses. It was ridiculous how weak her punches were and he would have found it almost adorable had she not been of the race of men.

Unfortunately for him, Thaleth did not agree with him.

“Asagron Lamenion, have you no shame?” her voice was hard and he barely had the time to react before she swiftly slapped the back of his head, hard. “She is an innocent child for goodness sake!”

Grimacing he rubbed his head when the girl disappeared from his arms, and within the same second he felt as the ground vanished under his feet and he fell helplessly to the ground. Growling he prepared to stand up again only to be hit by his bow, _his own bow_. This time he did not bother to stand up until he saw his sister’s form retreat into the Halls. Ignoring the giggles and laughter around him he collected his bow and eyed the sniggering guard on the left side of the gate.

“Do you have anything to say to me, Malgelir?” He asked, eyes narrowing, “You seem to be awfully amused at my expense.”

The guard pressed his lips together trying to contain himself but failed miserable and was soon laughing loudly bending over to catch his breath. Asgaron rolled his eyes at the sudden reaction.

“No offence my friend, but your sister is a force to be reckoned with”, Malgelir removed his helmet to wipe the tears from his eyes, golden hair falling down his shoulder, “and deserve it you did, I do not know how you came to find her but she is terribly cute that little forest creature!”

“She is most certainly not _cute_!” Asgaron cringed at the word, and spat down the next sentence, “that little wildling is a daughter of men, and one Elwion almost _died_ because of.”

“Ah, yes, Elwion,” the guard seemed lost in thought, “who would have guessed our very own Stumblefoot would have figured out how to sneak out undetected, perhaps we should call him Sneakyfoot instead… wait, no, that sounded stupid…”

The red-head pinched the bridge of his nose at his friend’s comment, “yes that sounded very stupid.”

Malgelir struggled to look offended but when met with Asgarons raised eyebrows he started to laugh again. “Do not be worried my friend! Elwion will be fine; the venom just needs to wear off!”

He sighed and once again rubbed the back of his head Taleth had hit, “I know Malgelir, but I do not want any of us to die because of anything _mortal.”_

The guard lost his smile at his friend’s statement, “no harm done this time Asgaron, now go and wash yourself up, I imagine the king will want all of you present later.”

“I am sure he will,” he sighed, “I will see you afterwards.”

Flashing him a bright smile the blonde nodded in agreement and Asgaron even offered a little smile in return before walking through the gates. When he heard the great stone doors close behind him he stood still for a while, sighed one last time and then started to walk towards the bathing room. Then he stopped again, face palmed, and turned around. He needed to fetch fresh clothes from his and Thaleth’s room first, and he dryly suspected that’s where both she and that wild child were.

This day was just getting worse and worse by every second.

 


	11. Chapter 11

”You really do not understand the common tongue, do you?” Thaleth pondered while carefully placing the girl on one of the chairs in the room, “how odd in this part of the world, I wonder who you are.”

She knew the words she spoke were very true: the girl was odd, in more ways than her lack of speech, which _could_ after all just be an effect of the river. The small figure in front of her had an unnatural perception now that she was calm and when Thaleth meet her eyes she did not look away until Thaleth did. It was very odd. Usually one would not stare into the eyes of another that long with neither hostility nor fondness, but this girl did. With a neutral yet somewhat curious expression she followed the elf-maiden’s every move.

“It is a good thing you are so little, you will fit well in our washing tub,” she smiled, “we use it to wash our clothes mostly, but when we were as little as you our mother used to bathe me and my brother in it.”

The girl did not change her expression at her words, but tilted her head a bit when Thaleth took forth the washing tub and filled it with water from one of the two buckets given to her on their way to the room. Then she pulled out a bottle of soap and poured it into the lukewarm water and then proceeded by emptying half the second bucket into the tub as well. She watched in amusement how the girl’s eyes widened when bubbles started to form.

“Here, come,” she took the girl’s feet and carefully placed them in water, and looked up to see if she was alright. When it was clear that she was not going to withdraw her feet despite the injury Thaleth lifted her up and made her stand up in the tub, it reached her knees. “there you go! Now we just have to get you out of that dress,” she gestured for the girl to lift up her arms and when she did the elleth took hold of the end of the dress and pulled it over the girl’s head.

“So there, I will help you sit little one”, she helped the girl sit down without putting too much pressure on her foot. Their eyes meet again when the child was seated and Thaleth paused and watched her.

“Your eyes are the deepest shade of blue I have ever seen in a living being”, she said after a while, “many elves have eyes like the sky or the sea, but yours are neither…”

Breaking the eye contact Thaleth moved behind the girl and seized a sponge while she did. In turn the girl crooked her neck to see what the elf was doing but soon turned back when she was offered a smile of reassurance. Thaleth dipped the sponge in the water and tenderly started to clean the various cuts and bruises that could be found.

“They are more of the earth, like sapphire”, Thaleth mused on while scooping water on the small shoulders in front of her and moving on to the short hair, “I believe so, your eyes looks just like the bluest sapphire in the King’s collection.”

“Whenever did you see the King’s collection, if I may ask?” Thaleth did not need to look up to see Asgaron by the doorframe.

“That, dear brother, does not concern you”, she replied, ignoring the glaring contest between the little child and her younger brother, “but since you asked so nicely it was a long time ago when Legolas and I played hide and seek as elflings, you were not born at the time I am afraid.”

Asgaron did not bother to give a reply immediately but finally broke his eye contact with the girl in tub by rolling his eyes and staggered through the room to his closet. There he quickly removed his leather armor and then grabbed a few garments and a towel.

“Oh yes, you and Legolas as elflings, I should have guessed,” his voice was dry, “well, I am off to the bathing room now and hopefully that creature is not in our room when I get back.”

Thaleth shot him a glare, “she is not a mindless creature Asgaron, stop addressing her as such.”

“I will address her in any way I wish”, he snarled opening the door to exit, “I will certainly not treat her like a precious elfling like the rest of you, she is a _mortal_ for Valar’s sake!”

“She is a child, and undeserving of your distain”, Thaleth bit back while putting balm in said child’s hair, “go and clean yourself up, she will stay here until I am done whether it be before or after you are.”

Asgaron opened his mouth to shot something back at his sister but at the last second he bit his tongue and instead passed one last dirty look at the girl before shutting the door with a bang.

The elf-maiden scoffed at the reaction, “over 700 years and still behave worse than a child on a bad day, Elbereth be kind.”

A spluttering sound made her look down at her hands and she gasped in little horror: the girl was not even visible anymore under the thick layer of bubbles and foam.

“Oh my, my apologies little one!” she laughed and quickly yet cautiously helped the little one to her feet and poured the last remaining water in the second bucket over her head, washing away the foam and balm. “There you are again, oh do not give me that look, you are nice and clean now! Let’s get you all dried up so I can bandage that foot of yours.”

Now that she was clean it became obvious she was a very beautiful child, not only by mortal standard. Her skin was as fine as porcelain and the contrast of her light skin and dark silky hair brought forth her eyes even more so than before. Thaleth silently realized that the child in front her even was in pair with an elfling, something she never would have believed had she not seen it herself.

“You are a mystery, Litte one”, she said at last, watching as the child in front of her sat on the side of the bed wrapped in a towel too big for her. “I would like to have a name for you, do you have a name?”

The girl did not answer but blinked a few times in what looked like confusion.

The elf however did not give up, keeling down until she was in the same eye-level as the girl, “I’m Thaleth”, and she gestured at herself, “Tha-leth, Thaleth.”

Once again the girl only blinked, and Thaleth sighed in defeat. “I better tend to that foot of yours then.”

She stood up, opened a drawer and pulled out some bandages, scissors and a wooden box with salve.

“Tha-leth”

Taleth jerked in surprise and turned around, had she imagined it?

The girl looked up to her questionably, “Tha-leth, Thaleth?”

“Yes little one, Thaleth!” Thaleth smiled happily hurrying back to the girl’s side, “me, Thaleth,” she pointed at herself, “you…?” she pointed at the girl.

“Thaleth”, the girl repeated again and placed a small hand on the elf, but then fell silent when she moved that hand to her own chest. “Ah…” her gaze fell in disappointment.

“It is alright little one, we will find out who you are eventually”, Thaleth stated, gently taking the girls chin lifting her head and smiled, “and if you still do not remember we will give you a new name.”

While she knew the girl hardly could understand everything she was saying it seemed as if her words still had a calming effect. With that Thaleth resumed her attention to girl’s injuries. Most of the bruises and scratches were shallow and did not need any medical attention but then there was the foot. A few toenails were ripped but luckily it was one of those injuries that hurt more than they harmed and it had stopped bleeding even before they reached the elven settlement. She took the scissors and carefully cut the toenails that only were held by a tiny bit in the corner. The girl twitched a little bit and winced but otherwise did not seem to be in too much pain. When she was done Thaleth put down the scissors and gently applied a generous amount the salve to the exposed skin. It made the girl whimper but otherwise she stayed still.

“It is to prevent infection”, she hummed when she was finished, “I will not bandage it, but let it breathe. It will heal faster that way.”

She walked to her closet and thoughtfully collected a green silk tunic, “I supposed this will have to do, though I would have preferred a blue one for you.”

The girl’s eyes immediately lit up when the tunic was passed to her, though it did look more like a dress on her, and she pulled it over her head instantly. Standing up it reached below her knees.

Thaleth observed her seemingly in deep thought, “you need leggings but I am not sure if… wait, maybe…”

Curious the girl followed the elf’s steps to Asgaron’s closet. It was not as neat and tidy as Thaleth’s but after some digging she finally found what she was looking for; a small fabric package. She placed it on her brother’s bed and unfolded it revealing a child sized tunic also in green and a pair of matching leggings.

“This is absolutely perfect!” She smiled happily and helped the girl step into the leggings without touching the injured area. “Look at you!”

An odd feeling of warmth filled Thaleth as the girl gave her a big smile and even laughed. It was the first time she had done so, and what a wonderful sound it was, but it was soon exchanged with a wide yawn.

Thaleth smiled softly and reached to pick her up. The girl met her halfway and let the elf-maiden carry her to the other bed. “Sleep for a while, little one,” she whispered, covering the little figure with a blanket, “rest and forget all the horrors of this world.”

It did not take long until the child’s breath became even and she was sound asleep. Removing a strand of damp hair from the sleeping’s face Thaleth let out a breath she did not know she was holding and then stood up and started to clean up the room.

This day was certainly becoming very interesting.


	12. Chapter 12

_The girl was running again, but this time it did not seem happy at all. Her long dress was thorn and her body full of cuts. It was also much more hurried movements, as though she was fleeing. The trees around her were dead and sky was dark. Not even the slightest moonlight could penetrate the thick clouds. She appeared as nothing but a mere shadow when she moved swiftly to get away from the even greater shadow behind her. The other shadow was darker, and bigger. Whereas she moved swiftly yet softly the darkness closing in to her was heavy and ruthless._

_As she felt the presence behind her get closer she speeds up. The once calculated steps become rapidly irregular as the fear of getting caught grows. In front of her she could see the end of the line; would she dare jump over the edge to the cliff on the other side? The fall would be high, she knew, and she did not like_ high.

_The hesitation became her doom._

_In a split second she found herself painfully hanging over the edge by her hair. The dark creature chuckled darkly at her attempts to free herself._

_“Got you…” it whispered hoarsely._

_Wincing she grabbed her hair above her head as to try and ease the pressure, only to glare defiantly at her captor._

_“No, you did not,” she hissed as a sharp light exploded around her and a mass of dark hair was the only thing left in the creatures hand as she fell, and fell, and fell and-_

You woke up with a startle, looking up at Thaleth with wide eyes.

She looked back at you with a concerned expression but soon gestured for you to follow her out the door. You did not take long to stand up and do exactly that, it was not exactly as if you could do much else. The dream slowly faded from your memory as the two of you walked the great corridors, but a small part of you still wondered if you might just be forgetting something somewhat important. That thought however was banished the moment another elf with golden hair offered you a bun of sweet bread. Memory was overrated, you thought, before stepping into the grandest hall you had ever seen. You almost giggled at how that really did not mean anything at all.  


	13. Chapter 13

“Will you explain your actions or will you stand there in silence until nightfall?” the King’s voice carried throughout the hall.

Elwion flinched slightly at the words but still could not bring himself to look up from floor. He found himself utterly embarrassed and ashamed as he stood before the throne. “I just miss the forest sometimes,” he murmured.  

“You just missed the forest,” King Thranduil echoed slowly, eying his youngest subject with a steady gaze, “is that why you ventured alone into the spiders’ territory?”

“Yes, my King.”

“And you did not think to remain in the safe parts or the woods or to bring someone with you?”

As if anyone would every allow him to go anywhere if they knew, he thought, but bit his tongue, “no, my King.”

“No one knew where you were, you did not think before entering dangerous ground, yet despite being aware of the risk of your own life you still saw fit to face dozens of spiders in order to save… a little girl?”

The young elf felt himself fidgeting with his leather gauntlets before finally gathering the courage to look up, albeit very carefully, and met the indifferent eyes of his king.

“Yes, my King,” he said.

“How very… noble of you,” Thranduil mused, “and what exactly had you planned on doing with her?”

What had he been thinking? He could not even remember. He had wanted to lead her out of the forest, maybe drive her to the elven scouts so _they_ could lead her to safety. “She was hurt, I just wanted to lead her somewhere safe.”

“Yet the two of you were nearly killed by spiders when Beridhren and his band found you,” He said dryly, and watched as Elwion once again turned his eyes to the ground, “you will not go past our safe borders again and while you are outside the halls… Asgaron will watch you until I deem otherwise.”

Asgaron would be his watcher?! Elwion’s head jerked up in surprise and he barely managed to hold back his protests. Of all people they could have picked they chose the one elf he could not stand, surely his King already knew- ah, yes, of course he knew and he found it amusing. Thranduil’s expression betrayed nothing, but Elwion would bet his left hand the ancient elf in front of him was chuckling on the inside, no doubt pleased with the punishment, and the reaction.

Elwion tried to relax his face and be indifferent, but he knew he was failing miserable when he saw the slight amused glimpse in Beridhren’s eyes. He pressed his lips together in a thin line and stubbornly refused to look at Asgaron where he stood next to his captain.  

“Yes… my King,” the young elf managed to press out. Inside he decided he was not going to step outside the gate until the sentence was over, be it a year or fifty. No, scratch that, he was not going outside his _room_ until the sentence was over, for Asgaron and Malgelir would never leave him alone otherwise. Of course it was doubtful if they would leave him at peace even if he stayed in his room. Knowing them they would surely pester him until he buried himself under rock.

“Good,” was the only reply he got as Thranduil turned his gaze to Beridhren, “now, where _is_ that… _girl_?”

“Thaleth is with her, I sent Malgelir to summon them,” the captain answered.

Elwion was not sure the smile that appeared on Thranduil’s face was a good or a bad sign, but before he had the time to think much about it the grand doors to the hall opened.

Malgelir walked up first and Elwion moved over to the side to make space for the new arrivals. Then Thaleth brought forth the girl that curiously was looking around the room with seemingly no worries at all.

Both Malgelir and Thaleth bowed and then walked to their own positions: Malgelir by the guards standing on the sideline and Thaleth next to her brother. The girl was left standing in the middle of the floor but even though she stood right in front of the King it took a few seconds before she turned her head from the ceiling and walls to meet his eyes. The carefree action made Elwion grimace; that was not a good first impression on a King as stiff as Thranduil.

The whole room was silent as they awaited their King’s reaction.  


	14. Chapter 14

It was an odd sight, seeing Thranduil staring at the girl and even stranger seeing her staring straight back at him. Neither one of them moved an inch until she tilted her head to the side in slight confusion. It was almost possible to touch the disbelief of all present when their King, instead of his usual cold and uninterested attitude, started to chuckle softly.

“I see,” he said at last, still looking at the girl, “we will need a name, does anyone have any suggestions?”

The elves in room looked at each other in confusion.

Annoyed by the silence the King gazed over his subjects and raised his brows, “well?”

Malgelir, never having a problem with awkward situations was the first to break the silence, “maybe Nimmil?”

“There is nothing frail about her!” Asgaron snorted, “Rhawiel would be a fitting name; she certainly acts like it!”

Thranduil frowned, disapprovingly “she is not of the wild, can you not see wisdom in her eyes? Silence youngling; speak not of what you do not understand!”

Elwion did not even bother to try and hide the smile that was brought to his lips as Asgaron was told off. At least one good thing happened this day. He did however refrain from expressing his doubts that a human girl no more than 9 maybe 10 years old, at least according to Malgelir, could be wise at all.     

“She might not be of the wild, but she is indeed lost,” Taleth said, “should we not call Lake-Town and ask if someone is missing her?”

Thranduil calmly looked at her from the corner of his eyes, “I have already had Beridhren send message to anyone it might concern, until further notice she will stay here.”

Thaleth face became blank. The sudden claim shocked all elves within hearing distance, though only Elwion openly showed his surprise with a mouth agape. Was this really their King? Did he just welcome a stranger into his kingdom and a human child at that?!

Elwion quickly scanned the room to see the others’ reactions. The only ones who were absolutely unreadable and apparently not surprised at all were the very oldest elves, the ones that had walked Arda since a time long forgotten by most.

“Then… maybe Wanweth?” Thaleth offered carefully, “she is lost after all; it might serve as a name until we find where she belongs.”

“It certainly is fitting,” he mused in reply, “very well, we shall call you Wanweth, the Lost Girl.”

The Lost Girl herself, now called Wanweth by the wood elves, stayed true to her new name and looked quite lost during the whole exchange. 


	15. Chapter 15

Asgaron was angry, which was not exactly unusual, but he was still angry. Not only did that little creature (he refused to call her by her new name) gain the favor of the King, but she was also placed under the care of Elwion, who in turn was placed under _his_ care every time he went outside the halls. This would most definitely be a lot considering the mischievous grin he had shot Asgaron the moment the arrangement was announced. He was absolutely certain Stumblefoot was planning to use Wan-… _the girl_ to antagonize him. Personally Asgaron thought it was outrageous that part of Elwion’s punishment would be something he was going to _enjoy._

His steps were hard quick and quick against the stone floor but like all elves he still made little sound. He was on his way to his and Thaleth’s rooms, and he very much wished to know why the human had been wearing _his_ old leggings, _his._ Was everyone against him? Even Malgelir had smiled at her and handed her sweet bread. _Sweet bread._

When he reached the door to their rooms he stepped inside and was met by another sight he did not like.

“What are you doing?” he asked his sister calmly.

Thaleth looked up from where she was packing her things. “I’m packing.”

“Yes, I can see that,” Asgaron told her with an annoyed tone, “but _why are you packing?”_

“I am going to Lake-Town with Bereneth,” she answered pensively, “and for goodness sake Asgaron, stop brooding!” 

“Bro-… _I am not brooding!”_ he exclaimed.

“Then do not act like it,” she ordered, “it is truly getting tiring, you have not behaved like this for centuries.”

“I am not acting like anything,” Asgaron hissed, “I just do not understand why Bereneth would ask you to leave the forest!”

His sister eyed him in silence and unable to meet her eyes he looked down. His mouth was in a tight line.

“It is just Lake-Town brother, not the other side of Arda,” she sighed, “I will be fine.”

“I have heard that before.”

“I know, but you cannot continue living in the past, little brother,” Thaleth said softly, starting to fold her clothes again, “I will only be gone a week, Bereneth is going to speak to the Master of the town about the trade.”

“You are not a mediator, I still do not understand,” he sat down on the bed, head down.

“You do not have to,” she kneed in front of him, then hesitated before continuing “just… try to be nice to Wanweth, I think there is… just try, promise me that.”

He looked at her suspiciously before sighing and wearily meeting her eyes again, “I cannot promise you that, dear _Miluithel.”_

“Try to.”

“Try to promise to try, really sister? You have reached new depths I see,” he said with a wry smile, “very well; I will try to not be… entirely unpleasant to her.”

Her brother’s answer made her laugh; he was finally showing a glint of his usual self. “I suppose that will have to do,” she said with a smile.

Asgaron only gave a half-hearted smirk in response.

“I will need to be off now,” she finally said, standing up again and grabbed her bag, “stay safe brother.”

She caressed his hair softly before walking out the door. When the door was shut and he was all alone once again he let his head rest in his hands.

“You too sister,” he murmured, “you too.”


	16. Chapter 16

It was with a heavy heart Thaleth joined Bereneth and two of their kinsmen. She hated leaving Asgaron, no matter how much she enjoyed visiting other places. Normally she would refuse such an offer and even more normally would others refrain from asking her. This time however, was different. She needed some answers, and Bereneth was the only one who could deliver them.

* * *

 

 _The audience was over and Elwion and Wanweth left the throne room together with the rest of the court except for a few of the elders, Beridhren included. Thaleth however lingered just outside the doors, fighting the urge to walk in again and up to Beridhren and inquire to where and when he sent the messages concerning Wanweth. It was out of line for her to ask such a thing from her Captain, but she simply could not imagine it would be done_ that _quickly and the way her King had phrased it…_

_The question was answered for her when Beridhren addressed Thranduil, “my King, no messages have been sent, why would you say that there has…-“_

_“I did not, Beridhren,” Thranduil said in his usual cool daemon._

_“You said that anyone concerned had been…-“ the captain tried again._

_“Exactly, anyone_ concerned,” _the King pointed out, a smile gracing his lips._

_“I see,” was all Beridhren could say as he realized what his King implied._

_Thranduil then decided he had been bothered enough in one day and gracefully stood up from his throne, “the eve is here and it is time to rest until morn, do make sure our guest is given proper room arrangement.”_

_“Yes, my King.”_

_Thaleth hurried away from the doors before anyone could notice her, or what she had overheard. It was time to seek out one person she could press for a little information, Bereneth._

* * *

 

When their eyes met Thaleth and Bereneth nodded to each other in greeting and then the four elves continued out of the great stone gates in silence.

Just outside the gates a certain golden haired elf tapped Thaleth’s shoulder. “You are leaving?”

Thaleth stopped before Malgelir, “only for a week.”

The usual smile was gone from his face, “this soon? You just came back.”

“I volunteered,” she said simply “we are visiting Lake-Town.”

Malgelir gave her a surprised look, “and Asgaron?”

“In our room, you should go to him,” Thaleth felt her heart sting at the mention of her brother.

“I am on my way,” Malgelir told her, “stay safe.”

“We will,” Thaleth offered him a small smile.

The golden elf gave the three other elves small greetings before patting Thaleth’s back and retreating back into the halls.

“Shall we move on?” Bereneth asked with a raised brow.

“Yes.”

* * *

 

_“How is she special?” Thaleth did not feel like wasting her breath when she got Bereneth alone outside the other elf-maiden’s chamber._

_Bereneth face turned blank, “I do not know wh…-“_

_“Yes, you do,” Thaleth interrupted, “you know because your father most certainly does.”_

_The other elf eyed the red-head sharply, “you are being exceptionally bold,” she said, “tell me, would you dare ask the same question to my father?”_

_Thaleth did not answer._

_Bereneth raised a brow, “no? well, at least you realize it is a sensitive subject.”_

_“So you do know something?” Thaleth insisted._

_The darker elf did not answer immediately as she scanned the corridor for others. She was nervous, Thaleth realized stunned._

_“I cannot tell you, sister of my heart,” Bereneth confessed reluctantly, for the information she had received from her father had to be treated delicately, “but I might be able to turn your head in the right direction to… see what some can see but most can not.”_

_The cryptic answer made her confused._

_“I have a party going to Lake-Town in a few hours,” Bereneth said, “come with me.”_

_Swallowing hard Thaleth felt her heart race at the offer, “I will come.”_

_“Good.”_

* * *

 

The road was not without dangers, as nothing was in Mirkwood, but it was not deathly perilous either. She wanted answers and she would get them, even if she in the end had to figure it out on her own.

“Why do we travel at night?” she asked when they got near the safety border.

Bereneth laughed, “It is early morn, but I understand you have had a very long day.”

“I had not noticed it has passed that much time,” she murmured slowly.

“The trees have been thick and dark of late,” one of the other elves sympathized, his voice deep and solemn, “it is hard sometimes, to see the difference between night and day.”

In the corner of her eyes Thaleth observed the elf that had spoken. Unlike the other elf, a Sindar elf by the name Dillothon that she had seen acting as a mediator in court several times, she did not recognize him and to her annoyance she had not even really _seen_ him until he spoke, but he was clearly Noldorian with dark hair, tall statue and grey eyes. However before she got the chance to ask what a non-wood elf would know of the goings in the woodland realm Bereneth voice interrupted her thoughts.

“No more of this, Thaleth, Daenir,” she ordered, “let us just be on our way.”

The demand efficiently ended any conversation and their journey to Lake-Town begun for real.   


	17. Chapter 17

_”Ah, and one last thing,” his king said suddenly in his usual cool tone, “as Elwion was the one responsible for bringing her here, he will also be responsible of caring for her here.”_

_Elwion’s eyes widen in surprise and he spurted out a “just like that?” at the same time Asgaron let out an almost unnoticeable breath. Elwion did notice it though, and it made him smirk in satisfaction, finally a turn in his favor! “I mean, certainly my King, it is most fair that things… are to be arranged as such!”_

_It was not as if he disliked the girl, and as such being the case he much preferred her company before Asgaron. Her presence would also, as a joyful bonus, act a charm to make the other elf stay away from him while he was inside and irk him while he was outside. Perfect in every way in other words!_

_The King did raise an eyebrow at the enthusiastic answer, but merely waved his hand in acknowledgement and dismissal._

_Satisfied with the evolvement Elwion bowed deeply and walked up to the girl, gesturing her to follow him. She smiled happily and grabbed the hem of his shirt, letting him lead her out from the hall._

* * *

 

They had placed a second bed on the opposite side of where his bed stood. He could therefore see her clearly as he laid in his bed and Wanweth in hers. It was strange to have a roommate after a hundred years of solitude but he found he did not really mind, yet, anyway. The moment her bed was in place and she realized it was indeed _her_ bed she curled down under the cover and fell asleep. Not very strange considering how much had happened but Elwion hoped it would continue on like this: with her sleeping as much as possible.

Elves did not really need sleep, at least not the same sleep as man, but in safe areas such as the King’s Halls most elves took the chance to sleep anyway, simply because it was nice. Elwion in particular loved sleeping and still with a little spider venom in his vein he was terrible tired, so with a last glance at the sleeping girl he also closed his eyes and let his spirit rest. He also figured it would be a long and interesting time henceforth.


	18. Chapter 18

_Elwion found himself standing alone in the dark forest of Mirkwood. There were eyes in the shadows watching him, but he found himself unable to move._

_The eyes grew closer and he could hear the jaws of the spiders clenching in excitement._

_He was petrified, they were going to kill him and he had no way of stopping it or defending himself._

_“No,” he plead, “please, no.”_

_The monsters slowly emerged from the shadows. They were just as gleeful as before, but this time they would succeed. There was no one to help him here._

_He backed away and held his arms as protection in front of him._

_Three spiders leapt towards him and he closed his eyes to frighten to even scream._

_Then, before they reached him, time stopped._

_“ **Pusta.”**_

_A clear voice had uttered the word and with it came a bright explosion of light._

_When Elwion dared to open his eyes the forest around him was green and in bloom. In front of him stood a little girl with long dark hair filled with leaves and flowers and a bright white dress that fluttered around her._

_“Elwion,” she smiled._

_He stared at her in shock. “Wan…weth?”_

_“Elwion,” she said again, “_ Elwion?”

Elwion opened his eyes at the sound of his name and the light poke on his arm.

Wanweth stood next to his bed with a concerned look on her face, “Elwion?” she asked again.

He felt his forehead, it was wet. Had it all only been a dream?

The girl though… he looked at Wanweth again. She did not look as other worldly as she had in his dream, but then again it had only been a nightmare, nothing more, but…

He sighed. The near death experience had affected him more than he wanted to admit.  Wanweth however did not seem particularly effected at all.

Suddenly he felt her climbing into his bed and lay beside him, laying her head on his chest.

He did not stop her but instead placed an arm gently on her shoulder. She made the darkness disappear, he thought as his eyelids became heavy again. Who knew a small child of man could be so very special.

“Goodnight Wanweth,” he whispered softly, and once again fell asleep and so did Wanweth. 


	19. Chapter 19

**Day 1**

It was the first time in 200 years that Asgaron woke up and found no sign what so ever of his sister. He had barely been able to sleep at all, or rest, and even though Malgelir had tried, Asgaron refused to leave his bed for the entire day.

**Day 2**

Some would say that the second day went much better since the redhead actually left his room but Asgaron himself would claim the opposite. At least in his room he did not have to witness that pathetic child learning Sindarin from Elwion the moment he stepped into the dining hall. He tried to contain his contempt, he truly did, but the moment he saw her casually walk around the many halls over all the narrow bridges and steps he snapped in annoyance.

“Oh, so _now_ there is suddenly no problem with heights!” he hissed distastefully, not really caring if anyone heard him or not, “that little deceitful _orc child!”_

Ignoring the blank stares of the other elves present he promptly locked himself up in his room once again, for the rest of the day.

**Day 3**

The third day he woke up by knocks on the door. He stood up and opened it, only to reveal the very two people he had tried his hardest to avoid.

Elwion looked insecure for a moment but then Wanweth tugged his shirt eagerly and he sighed before turning his attention back to Asgaron, “eh… I was just wondering if we could go outsi-…”

Asgaron slammed the door in their face and returned to his bed for another day.

**Day 4**

Everything just went downhill after the fourth day.

“This is enough, Asgaron!” Malgelir’s voice woke him up from his slumber, “if you do not open up this door in three seconds, I am breaking in!”

The threat made by his fried only made Asgaron snigger in his pillow, “you do that Malgelir, and we will see what Thaleth will say when she comes back and her door is broken.”

“I think I am more curious of her reaction when she finds out you have been in your room all week,” the golden haired elf said wryly, “and that you have denied Elwion the possibility to go outside, I do not imagine she will be pleased at all.”

Asgaron snorted before closing his eyes again, “it matters not; she is not here, in case you have forgotten.”

“Three seconds from now, Asgaron,” Malgelir growled very uncharacteristically, but Asgaron heeded him no mind.

“Three,”

“It won’t break,”

“Two,”

 Asgaron nearly did not notice the sound metal hitting the door, “what are you doing?!”

“One, last warning Asgaron,” Malgelir’s voice was heard and another clank of metal.

“Stop this madness, what in the world are you doing?!” Asgaron jumped out of his bed to stop whatever his friend was planning, but it was too late; the door slammed open and in the door opening stood a grinning Malgelir with a steel key in his hand.

“Asgaron, how nice to see you up!” the elf smiled, “I was _just_ on my way outside and you are going with me.”

“Who gave you a key?!” Asgaron asked upset, trying to snatch it from Malgelir’s hand. The blonde however only took a graceful step back, effectively dodging the attempt.

“Why Thaleth of course!” he smiled sweetly, “she told me to give you three days to _bewail_ , but no more.”

Asgaron growled in annoyance.

“Do not be like that, my friend!” Malgelir laughed, “I will wait for you by the gate, hurry up and get dressed!”

“I have not eaten anything,” Asgaron said, watching his friend leave.

“I have brought food!” was the only reply he got.

-o-

When he finally reached the outer gate he was met by a very, very unpleasant sight.

In front of him were a smiling Malgelir, a happy Wanweth and an uncomfortable Elwion. They were all dressed to go outside and for a second Asgaron contemplated running away and hide in the wine cellar. The thought was however banished by Malgelir’s warning glance.

“What a charming party we have here,” Asgaron commented dryly, “shall we go?”

He walked passed them all and let the gate be opened.

Considering the suspicious glare the girl gave him and the annoyed look Elwion threw his way Asgaron had no doubt in mind this was going to be a very, very long day.

-o-

“She is definitively feigning it,” Asgaron mumbled, irritated at Wanweth’s hardship to cross the bridge once more.

Malgelir did not reply but only watched in amusement as Wanweth clung to Elwion like a slug until they were on the other side.

-o-

“A tree,” Elwion told Wanweth and pointed at one of the big trees that surrounded them, “tree.”

“A tree,” she repeated before picking up a big leaf that had fallen, “this?”

“That is a _leaf”_ he emphasized the word in question, “and this is a _flower.”_

“A leaf and flower,” Wanweth said and she looked so fascinated when she said the words not even Asgaron could deny her sweetness. It made him even more annoyed.

Elwion and Wanweth sat together on the green forest floor while Elwion continued to teach her Sindarin and braided flowers in her hair. She was a quick learner Asgaron noted displeased, but he did not care to bother them. Instead he sat on a branch in the closest tree and sharpened his dagger, trying to ignore them. Malgelir had since long indulged in a conversation with the other elves nearby that had come to see the small newcomer and sat with them near Elwion and Wanweth.

“Will you not join them, Asgaron?” Malgelir’s voice suddenly rang.

Asgaron sneered in his direction before resuming his sharpening. The reaction made many of the present elves to laugh merrily.

-o-

“That was not so bad, was it?” Malgelir teased, “I firmly believe I even saw you smile once.”

“You must have imagined it.” Argaron retorted before entering his room.  

Malgelir smiled, “I will see you in the morning,” 

The red haired elf closed the door in response.

It was true though, he had enjoyed himself, a little, maybe, slightly at least, and naturally it made him angry. He had not spoken to anyone, but to be outside and hear the cheerful chatter had been nice. It had been long since the grasses had been that green and the sunbeams shining through the thick blanket of leaves so warm. It had been too long, and he was happy, even though that child had been there too, that he got the chance to enjoy it. He was just sad that Thaleth had not been there to enjoy it as well.

These thoughts made Asgaron too restless and in the end he did not rest that night. Instead he walked outside and spent the night up high in a tree, watching the stars.

**Day 5**

The next day Asgaron did not enter the Halls until midday and even then all he did was to walk around aimlessly. He did not feel like being in his room as it only reminded him of Thaleth’s absence nor did wish for Malgelir’s company as the elf always was so _happy._ Asgaron wanted to feel gloomy and with Malgelir near he was not allowed to.

“Asgaron!”

He turned around at the sound of his name.

“Have you seen Wanweth? It seems Elwion has lost her,” a blonde elf asked, though he looked more amused than worried.

“No, I have not,” he answered and resumed his walk, “though I cannot say I am surprised.”

The absentminded comment was met with laughter, but Asgaron did not wait for a reply and the other elf returned to his searching.  

-o-

It was not until he opened the door to the wine cellar that he realized where he was. This was the final destination, the deep cave that held the King’s Halls did not venture deeper into the rock than this.

Well, at least it held wine.

He looked around and as expected no one was around. The room was cool and for a moment he closed his eyes and enjoyed the muted sound of the stream that ran underneath the wooden floor in the corner of the room. Then he let his eyes roam the room for an open wine barrel. Surely it would be alright for him to take some wine from a barrel already opened.

There did not seem to be any.

Then he with a sigh he turned to the empty barrels that were set to leave for Lake-Town soon. Maybe he could just jump into one and join his sister, he thought with bitter amusement. Imagine her surprise: her younger brother coming swirling down the river riding in a barrel. He almost laughed at the ridiculous notion.

Some of them might have some leftover wine though and thus he decided to see if that might be the case. He opened them one by one but when he got to the fifth barrel he suddenly stopped. The lid was already loose and he had a gnawing suspicion as to why. Taking a deep breath he opened it and very accurate to his guess there laid a dark haired little girl, sleeping.

At that moment Asgaron felt cursed, cursed to have that lost little creature in front of him wherever he went.

He blankly turned around and walked back to his room.

Just outside his chamber he incidentally met the same elf that had asked about Wanweth before, gave him the lid to the barrel and then slammed his door shut.

The elf looked expressionlessly at the lid before going back to the cellar to return it. When he discovered what Asgaron had found he laughed all the way back to Elwion with a very confused Wanweth in his arms.

**Day 6**

By the sixth day Asgaron had given up any hope of avoiding Wanweth and Elwion. He had resigned himself to his fate, so to speak. He did not even have the will to be annoyed anymore, much less express his earlier distain. When Elwion wanted to go outside, Asgaron followed, and when Wanweth was afraid to pass the bridge, he did not bat an eye. His only comfort was that Elwion seemed awfully uncomfortable with his new attitude, but it was a meager victory. The girl was the real victor after all.

She really did look like an elfling Asgaron finally admitted. Now that she was clean and her hair braided with flowers every day the only thing that exposed her was her round ears. It would not last for long though, that he knew. A few years and then she would be gone, dead, like all mortals. Somehow that thought gave him no comfort, if this continued, many would grieve her passing.

It was odd how much livelier their home had gotten though. Even the King had been seen smiling softly at times, something that had not happened since the Queen passed away. Even the trees and the woods seemed happier and the sun felt just a little bit warmer every day. Had it really been that long since they had had a source of joy like a child that they had forgotten to enjoy the little things in life?

Asgaron sighed, he really did not feel like thinking of it, but some of his sister words suddenly came back to him.

_“You do not have to,” she kneed in front of him, then hesitated before continuing “just… try to be nice to Wanweth, I think there is… just try, promise me that.”_

What had she meant with that? No, that was a question for another evening. He was to weary to think of it now. Either way Thaleth was coming back tomorrow, he would ask her when she arrived.

 Until then, he really wanted to rest.

**Day 7**

He wanted to scream and throw things. He wanted to break everything in sight and rip things apart. He felt as if the world had come crashing down around him, but in the end all he could ask was a blank “where is she?”

Bereneth sighed, and had it not been for his inner turmoil he would have noticed the slight discomfort in her movements. “She is well, Asgaron.”

“But not here,” he stated the obvious.

“No,” Bereneth agreed, “she is not.”

“Then where is she?” he tried his hardest to keep his temper in check.

“She left for Rivendell,” the older elf answered, “Daenir of Rivendell asked if she wished to go with him.”

“And who exactly is _Daenir?!”_ he spit out the name and he knew he was too close to yelling. The sharp glare that Bereneth gave him let him know he was close to crossing the line, “I mean, who is Daenir?”

“He came to deliver a message from the Lady Galadriel of Lorien,” she answered, “then I asked him to accompany us to Lake-Town as we lacked in number, for he is also my kin on my father’s side.”

“That does not explain why he felt the need to bring my sister with him,” Asgaron hissed.

“She was quite willing, I assure you,” Bereneth said coolly, “she also asked me to give you this.”

She handed him a small letter and he immediately skimmed it through. “It… it barely explains anything,” he finished lamely, and Bereneth offered him an apologetic smile.

“I am sorry, Asgaron,” she said mildly, “do not doubt Thaleth though, she is not known for doing things without cause.”

“I do not understand,” he murmured, “why did they not take the elf-path through the forest at least, are they going to go round the whole forest?”

Bereneth winced slightly at his confused musing, “they did walk the by the path,” she said carefully.

Asgaron’s head snapped back up, watching Bereneth intensely, “then why did she not come to say goodbye?”

“Perhaps because she did not wish to be convinced to stay home,” was the only answer she could offer him. He fell silent and once again read the letter. Then he gave her a small nod before going back inside the halls.

The rest of the day was awfully silent amongst the elves of Mirkwood, and even Wanweth seemed very solemn the rest of the day. It was never amusing to see one of their own suffer.          


	20. Chapter 20

You were not sure how long you had been with the elves now, perhaps weeks or even months. You did not care much either way. It was nice in the Halls and it was nice under the trees. It was not nice under the sky or near water, but the thin bridge slowly became less and less intimidating every time Elwion carried you over it. You did not have to look neither up nor down when he did that but buried your face in his neck. It was a perfect solution.

You did however have a slight problem with navigating yourself. Constantly you found yourself lost in the many corridors in the Halls and it was not a rare occurrence you sometimes started to wander off while picking flowers outside. Outside the everyone watched out for you constantly and they always managed to catch you before you ventured to far away, but once or twice it was the scouts at the very edge of the safety area that found you and they were just as horrified every time at the notion that they might have missed you. Inside they were less worried – there was only that many places you could be and you were usually found in some small space sleeping. You had a talent to simply get lost.

You really did not mean to either, honest, you simply could not help yourself! Something could be so interesting one moment, but then suddenly something there in the distance caught your eye and you just had to go and look at it closer. Elwion did not enjoy your little quirk though, and he constantly complained he was “too old for this”, whatever _this_ was. You did not understand him at all; surely it could not be that difficult to find her? Asgaron never seemed to have a problem with it.    

Asgaron had changed a lot since Thaleth’s sudden departure and while he still was far from kind or even nice, at least he was not mean anymore. Even you had been a little bit worried for him a few weeks, or months, ago when Bereneth got back with that letter. His face had been blank for a long time, and still was, but you had felt it somehow, the raging storm inside of him. He was hurting awfully. That was why you decided to give him another chance, even if he still was far from pleasant with you.

Either way he was always the first to find you, for some unknown reason, and while it mattered little to you, even though you would have preferred Elwion, it seemed as Asgaron became more and more resigned each time. You thought it was odd that his personality had gone from aggressive and fierce to simply weary and it did bother you a little. Now especially it seemed as if he had finally reached his breaking point in the subject, the 60th time, or something like that, he found you.

Unlike the other times he had opened a chest, barrel or scrub, or pretty much anything, and found you hidden in it he did not leave to get someone else to attend to you. Instead he looked at you passively and then sat down slowly next to the large fruit basket he had found you in this time and stared straight into the wall.

You looked at him curiously, “is something wrong?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, but did not answer right away. His behavior confused you and you straighten your back while moving some hair from your face.

“I do not know, little one,” he sighed, “I truly wish I did however.”

You tilted you head to the side as you watched him. He was definitely acting odd.

He turned his gaze for the wall to your face. Your heads were only inches apart. “I do not suppose you could just tell me what exactly is so special with you?”

“You think I am special?” you blurted in surprise. You would never have guessed.

Asgaron slammed the back of his head to the wall at the question, wincing slightly at the impact. “Never mind,” he replied, sounding a little pained.

“You really think I am special?” you could not bring yourself to let it go, how nice to be thought special!

“You certainly are especially annoying,” he breathed and closed his eyes tiredly. 

You huffed at the insult and glared at him. You were just about to retort when the door suddenly slammed open.

“Wanweth!” it was an anxious Elwion that burst into the storage room.

“Elwion!” you shouted happily, and clapped your hands together in joy. He had found you quicker than usual this time, you think. You had been sleeping when Asgaron had found you, and so you could not know for sure.

Elwion did not react to your happy greeting however as he noticed Asgaron, “Asgaron?!”

“Yes?” the older elf replied, still with his eyes closed.

“Well, eh…” you nearly giggled at Elwion’s awkwardness, “um… what are you… eh, what are you doing here?”

“I wanted an apple,” was the wry answer, and this time you did giggle. Asgaron was not the easiest person to get along with, but he could be funny sometimes.

“Right,” Elwion said uneasily, “eh… Wanweth!”

He urgently turned to you and you gave him a big happy smile, “yes!”

“We should probably… go,” he said, “I am sure Asgaron will want to eat his apples in peace.”

Asgaron nodded silently in agreement.

“Oh, of course!” you said, and skipped out of the basket and took hold of Elwion’s hand. “I saw some cakes in the kitchen earlier; do you think they will serve them for dessert tonight?”

“I am sure they will little one”, Elwion answered, “but unless you wish to miss it I suggest you stay close to me so you do not get lost again.”

You nodded eagerly, this time you would make sure not to wander away. Surely you could handle not getting lost for one evening, right? You did not think about it long though, you never did. The moment Elwion took you out of the small room and through the kitchen you forgot everything about Asgaron and his oddness. You were fully concentrated, for a few minutes at least, not to let yourself get distracted. That was, until you saw that extraordinary small butterfly with blue wings while you were chewing one of the cakes. At once you forgot everything Elwion had told you before and in a split moment, while Elwion was busy eating and chatting with the other elves around the table, you slipped away once again. This time you ventured up many narrow stairways until you had lost both the butterfly and Elwion. You could not even smell the food anymore. You furrowed your brows. How did this always happen?

You looked around one last time to see if anyone was near. You did not feel like shouting, it was not as if you needed help, you had just lost your way a little.

Between two staircases there were big tree roots growing and carefully you crawled under them to discover a small enclosed space created by overlapping roots. What a perfect place for a nap!


	21. Chapter 21

_“You have nothing to say?” The King asked in his usual unsympathetic tone._

_“No, my King,” she replied softly. What could she say? It was her decisions that had foiled her King’s plans, whether or not she agreed with it._

_Thranduil scrutinized her closely before sighing, “Very well,” he said, “it was certainly unavoidable, but I had hoped for more time.”_

_His musings caused her to look up upon him in surprise. She had expected harsher words._

_“Do not look so surprised,” had she not known him better she would have sworn he sounded amused, “We still do not yet how long it will take for the White Consul to find out and even when they do, what_ can _they do?”_

_Bereneth stayed silent, she did not know what to say to that._

_“You will be punished either way of course,” he continued, “and I suggest you do not try something similar again, Bereneth, I will be kind this time for you have never failed me before, but if there is a second time I will not be so forgiving.”_

_“Yes, my King,” she bowed her head slightly. She had taken a gamble with Thaleth, and she had lost. It was very unlikely she would every do something like that ever again._

_The elven King seemed pleased at her submission, “your regret does you service, young one,” he said approvingly, “you will be assigned under Tauriel at the border, until I deem otherwise.”_

_“Yes, my King,” Bereneth was not too pleased at being placed as a guard at the border for an unknown time, as she had always been a scout under her father, but it certainly could have been much worse. Tauriel was a worthy leader, even though she was one of the youngest elves in the forest at around a mere 600. Unlike the other younglings however, such as Asgaron or Elwion, she was much more levelheaded, or rather, as levelheaded as a Silvan elf could be. Bereneth would probably have to swallow her pride at times, she was half Noldor after all, but at least she had not been reduced to cleaning dishes._

It had been months now and she was still not allowed to leave the border. It was harsh enough to be on weekly outings, but to be there for months? It truly was a punishment.

However she never once came close to complaining since she indeed was guilty as charged.

Bereneth had after all known King Thranduil would not appreciate her impulsive decision to aid Thaleth in her pursuit yet she had done so anyway. All Bereneth had wanted was to answer her friend’s questions, but instead her scheme had given Thaleth new questions that Bereneth herself simply was not allowed to even hint on. How could she have known that Thaleth had been so eager to find the truth that she would even leave the forest without permission? 

Her orders had specifically been to escort Daenir out of the realm with as little suspicion was possible to avoid information about the girl to be spread. He had never had the chance to see her, something that had pleased the king immensely. It did however make it important that he left without ever knowing of her if they wished to keep her presence a secret, which apparently they did.

Now that Thaleth had left the forest to find out exactly what Wanweth’s secret was it would not be long until both the lady Galadriel and lord Elrond both gained knowledge of her.

Had Bereneth been a thousand years younger she would have groaned at her own carelessness.

Daenir was naturally very observant and even though he did not say a word about it, it was obvious to Bereneth that her cousin suspected something was amiss when she had asked him to accompany her to Lake-Town. It was also very obvious to him that Thaleth knew what that ‘amiss’ was and he took full advantage of her eagerness. Thaleth was no fool of course, she never told him a thing about Wanweth, but likewise did she know that the answers she was seeking would not be found in her home.

Bereneth could only hope that Thaleth would keep her silence, because Thranduil would definitely not be as forgiving to her.  

“I am still surprised she left,” a voice behind her stated, “I never knew my cousin to be thoughtless.”

Bereneth turned around and met Tauriel’s guarded eyes and said, “That would be because she is not.”

“Then why?” the red haired elf, so similar to Thaleth, asked, “you know, do you not?”

The familiar question caused the older elf to smile ironically, “that is exactly what Thaleth asked me,” she said, “and little good did it do me when I tried to answer it!”

Tauriel furrowed her brows slightly at the exclamation and Bereneth watched her steadily before continuing, “You do not wish to know, young one, and do not try to unless you wish the King’s wraith over your head.”

The crease between Tauriel’s eyes only grew at the warning but she knew better than to question Bereneth. Both Thaleth and Bereneth were much older than her and she did hold them both in high regard, even though Thaleth’s recent actions confused her. “Very well,” she replied, “I will take your word for it.”

Bereneth gave small bow in reply before she retreated to their camp. It was Tauriel’s turn to hold watch.

* * *

 

Tauriel in turn was not sure if Bereneth had just bowed to her in respect for her current captain, or if she had simply nodded in approval.

She sighed silently before taking her place as watch. Bereneth presence had made her job significantly easier in that sense that she now had a most reliable second in command that could take charge when Tauriel herself was needed back in the Halls for whatever reason. She could however not shake off the feeling that Bereneth was so much more than a second in command and that she was somewhat wasted at the borders.

Not that the border was boring or uneventful: more than once had they had to fight off the spiders and drive them further away from their home. It was rather that, unlike herself, Bereneth was more than just an incredibly skilled fighter, though Tauriel did estimate that she would be able to beat Bereneth in a serious spar, she was also a diplomat and an amazing strategist. Maybe it was that typically proud air that always surrounded Noldor elves, but Tauriel could not imagine Bereneth forever staying isolated in the woodland realm. She was made for grander things, for a time long past. 

Bereneth had not been born in Greenwood, and more than once had Tauriel heard her and her father speak of the lands beyond the trees. When they spoke of the spiders or other abomination their concern never stayed in the forest but continued to the lands of other elves, man and even old kingdoms of dwarfs. It was fascinating and Tauriel always found her own heart tug at their words.

She wanted to be made for grander things as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There I go adding more movie characters. It was not my plan from the beginning to include Tauriel as my story will mostly follow the books, but it kind of happened anyway. I only have one warning: I may use some characters and some elements that I enjoyed in the movie, but they will not intervene with the plot the way they did in the movie. 
> 
> Only one chapter more until we're up to date!


	22. Chapter 22

The once beautiful Greenwood had become the dark and treacherous Mirkwood and no one seemed to be able to tell why. If Daenir questioned one of the wood-elves none would answer and when he asked Thranduil the king would plainly tell him it was none of his concern. The King had however accepted him into his Kingdom as a messenger from Galadriel, the Lady of Light, and for a moment it had seemed as if Thranduil reluctantly was beginning to consider asking for advice. That was until Daenir suddenly found himself dismissed and basically escorted out of the Woodland Realm.

Daenir could only come to one conclusion: there was something the last King of Elves in Arda wanted to hide, and it was probably something rather big.

It was not as if it really concerned him, he was an elf of Rivendell after all, but he was painfully curious.

Bereneth had refused to give him the slightest hint and Dillothon, the Sindar mediator, only pretended he did not exist. Thaleth however was another thing entirely.

The red-haired Silvan had caught his eyes the moment she stepped outside the gates. She had an air of clam and kindness around her which was very unusual for her people and even when he baited her she still kept her head in place. It was… fascinating. If anyone would give him answer he was sure it would be her.     

He had spent the whole journey to and in Lake-Town to try and convince the elf-maiden to come with him. Not that he did so obviously, he only fed her well hidden desire for travel with tales of his past journeys and adventures. It worked better than a charm.

She had tried to look uninterested but he still caught that small flame burning in her eyes. It was both odd and still not, he thought. It was odd because the wood-elves were known for being uninterested of the world outside their forest, but at the same time it was logical that someone whom lived isolated and rarely left their home would become somewhat curious of the world. He had been sure it would not be long until she would open up and tell him of the growing darkness in the woods and why the King did not seem to think he needed any aid.

It was not until they reached the end of the elven-path and he tried to subtly inquire information about what had happened before they left for Lake-Town and she only smiled shrewdly in response that he realized she was much more than he had previously thought. He had not realized that hidden under that surface of kindness and friendliness she was as firm as a mountain and had a mind sharper than a shark’s teeth. He realized _she_ was the one using _him_ to get what she wanted and that she had no intention what so ever to give him answers.

Chuckling at his own mistake he had followed her to the High Pass. It would be interesting to have her around for a while. 

* * *

 

Thaleth knew she should feel worse about leaving than she did.

Not only had she left without her king’s permission and possibly risked unraveling a secret said king wished to keep, but she had also put Bereneth in a difficult situation and left her brother.

She knew she should feel horrible, but she did not.

It was liberating to follow those unfamiliar paths and see those new sights. The mountains had been terrifying, but the scenery had made up for it. Daenir said they had been lucky when they passed the Misty Mountains. They had seen no goblin and the sky had been clear. Even the mist that always covered the mountaintops where thinner than usual and the Stone Giants had not been playing quite as lively as they could have, apparently.

The elf-maiden was not sure whether or not Daenir was speaking the truth when he said he once had crossed the High pass and the giants had been paying sport with enormous blocks of stone and laughed to loudly he had to cover his ears and hurry past them before he was either crushed by some rock or started to bleed out his ears. It sounded ridiculous, but it was the first time she had ever been this far from her home so she could not tell.    

Rivendell itself however exceeded any expectations with horse lengths.

It was stunningly beautiful and while Sindar elves preferred more simple abodes it was no question that the last homely house east of the sea was an architectural masterpiece.

When they first entered the hidden valley, and her awe became apparent, Daenir’s knowing smile was somewhat annoying but she dismissed it. The male was the most aggravating elf she had ever had the chance to come across but it was also thanks to him she was this free. She should feel horrible about it, but she had never felt this free before.

Lord Elrond was just as regal as King Thranduil but more approachable and humble. He was wise and kind and valued the healing arts highly. He was everything she never thought a Noldor, or any elves of ‘higher’ birth, could be.

He had her uttermost respect immediately.

The first time they met and she was invited at his table together with Daenir, and several other Rivendell elves, he asked her why she had come.

“I simply wish to learn as much as I can, My Lord,” she had answered, and sincerely so.

Lord Elrond had studied her for a moment before smiling, “I can indeed help you with that!” he had said, “my whole collection and library will be at your exposal here and you are welcome to stay for as long as you like.”

It was not hard to be in Rivendell, the days where peaceful and so very homely! Days turned to weeks and weeks to months.

She tried to find her answers and always held a book in her hand, much to the amusement of Daenir that insisted on bugging her, but she found none.

“I wish you would have just told me everything right away, Bereneth” she mumbled for herself one day, “or nothing at all.”

Wanweth! What could the answer to that riddle be? She found absolutely nothing resembling to what she had realized in Lake-Town, that one observation that had made her take up on Daenir’s offer. 

* * *

 

_The visit was nearing its end and Bereneth still had not even indicated she was going to tell her anything at all. Thaleth felt restless._

_Dillothon was going to stay in Lake-Town for a few months to act as the new ambassador and Daenir was still insisting she should come with him to Rivendell. The idea was ridiculous, but she humored him. It was amusing to see the elf subtly trying to pry answers from her._

_“Thaleth,” Bereneth said behind her._

_“Yes?” Thaleth felt her heartbeat race. Would Bereneth tell her what she knew?_

_“A child has climbed up a mast and cannot climb down,” Bereneth said, much to Thaleth’s confusion, “It would be too risky for one of the men to do it, but you would not mind, would you?”_

_She wanted her to climb up a mast and fetch a child? “Why would…-“_

_“It is a girl, she had blonde hair and rosy cheeks, you cannot miss her” Bereneth interrupted, “she wears a brown dress and is nearly as tall as the latest child you cared for.”_

_Was she talking about Wanweth? “Yes, but-…”Bereneth intense gaze stopped Thaleth midsentence, “I mean, of course.”_

_Bereneth wanted her to do it for a reason._

_The girl was indeed on top of a mast, terrified, and Thaleth understood what Bereneth meant when she said it would be too risky for one of the men of the town to get her – it was a very thin mast that likely would not carry them. An elf however, was another story._

_The town’s people that had gathered around it moved away when she approached and a man that looked particularly distressed looked at her pleadingly. He had dark hair and eyes._

_“Please get my daughter!” he said, “please get my Tilda!”_

_Thaleth gave him a gentle smile in reply._

_She climbed up easily with an agility and lightness that only elves were capable of. When she reached the girl she wrapped her right arm around her and the girl gripped her tightly in response._

_It was when she held this young girl, no older than 10, that she realized a devastating truth._

_Thaleth had never even seen a child of man before she met Wanweth, so naturally she could not have realized it then, but_ now _she did._

 _A child of man_ weighted.

_Wanweth was light as a feather._

_Wanweth could not possibly be of the race of man._

_But if she was not, then what was she?_

_Bereneth refused to answer, but Daenir… Rivendell could have answers. She could not tell anyone of what she now knew, because she knew that if even Bereneth was forbidden to speak of it… but if she discovered it herself, that would be different._

_She made up her mind._

* * *

 

“Lady Thaleth!” Daenir’s unusually joyful voice interrupted her thoughts, “Lord Elrond is having a grand dinner tonight; tell me, will you come?”

“I am no lady, Daenir,” she replied with a slight frown, “but of course I will attend, though I must ask, what is the occurrence?” 

The elf’s uncharacteristic grin made her curious.

“Dwarves, Thaleth, _dwarves!”_ he laughed, “dwarves have come to Rivendell! Can you believe it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the story now finally merges with The Hobbit! 
> 
> If there is anything you wonder about the story, because I know I haven't been overly keen on explaining things, please feel free to ask! Pretty much everything I have written so far has happened for a reason and if anything is unclear I'd love to explain it. 
> 
> Hopefully things will get somewhat more interesting from now on!


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the elves have fun at the expense of our favorite company.

Thorin Oakenshield did not like elves.

 _O! What are you doing,_  
And where are you going?  
Your ponies need shoeing!  
The river is flowing!  
    O! tra-la-la-lally  
        here down in the valley!

Definitely not.

 _O!  What are you seeking,_  
And where are you making?  
The faggots are reeking,  
The bannocks are baking!  
    O! tril-lil-lil-lolly  
        the valley is jolly,  
            ha! ha!

Especially not jolly-singing, tree-sitting, giggling elves.

 _O! Where are you going_  
With beards all a-wagging?  
No knowing, no knowing  
What brings Mister Baggins,  
    And Balin and Dwalin  
        down into the valley  
            in June  
            ha! ha!

They always teased and annoyed other _decent_ folk without any remorse and if one pointed it out, they only laughed even more. Not to mention their uncanny ability to gain _gossip_ quicker than the river was running.

 _O! Will you be staying,_  
Or will you be flying?  
Your ponies are straying!  
The daylight is dying!

Thorin resisted his sudden urge to snort very un-kingly.

 _To fly would be folly,_  
To stay would be jolly  
    And listen and hark  
    Till the end of the dark  
        to our tune  
        ha! ha!

When the elves were finished with their ridiculous tune they succumbed to a fit of giggles and laughter. It all left the old dwarf lord in a very, very foul mood. Gandalf better be right about this Lord Elrond, otherwise he was not sure if he could handle the torture of listening to this so called _singing_ on the way back out of the valley as well. Where was that forsaken _house_ anyway?

“Well, well!” one of the elves laughed happily, still hidden in the trees “look at that! Bilbo the hobbit on pony, who would have thought!”

“Is it not marvelous?!” another giggled.

“Most astonishing wonderful!”

At least they did not mock any of the dwarves _yet_ , but Thorin still had to conjure all his self-control not to throw something at figures hiding behind the leaves when they started to sing a new song, even more senseless than the first one.

No, Thorin Oakenshield did not like elves _at all._

* * *

Gandalf found himself thoroughly amused. The younglings, and of the Hidden Valley never failed to brighten his day (or in this case his evening) and it was a guilty pleasure seeing the annoyed faces of his dwarf companions (in particularly Thorin) as they rode.

Soon the singing stopped once more and one of the elves finally stepped out of his hiding place and greeted them merrily. “Welcome to the Valley,” he said and Gandalf immediately got off his horse to return the greeting just as happily, ignoring Thorin’s gruff and somewhat sarcastic “Thank you!”

“ _Mithrandir_!” the young elf said when grey wizard approached him, “ _well met!”_

 _“Well met indeed, Rawion!”_ Gandalf chuckled, _“we are journeying to see Lord Elrond although I am sure you all already know that!”_

The elves still in the trees all laughed at Gandalf’s much accurate assumption.

“You are a little out of your way,” Rawion stated, speaking both to Gandalf and Thorin (who was looking grumpier than ever), “that is, if your making for the only path across the water and to the house beyond. We will set you right, but you had best go on foot, until you are over the bridge. Are you going to stay a bit and sing with us, or will you go straight on? Supper is prepared there.”

“We will go straight on,” Thorin stated plainly, abhorred by the idea to listen to more singing, and the rest of the dwarves grunted in agreement.

Gandalf fought back a smile but did not object.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the long wait and more sorry for the fact that this was pretty much a filler chapter. At the bright side I am currently sitting on 14 almost-done-but-not-quite chapters so unless something terrible happens the next chapter should be up soon as well! 
> 
> And yes, I have chosen to ignore Peter Jackson’s idea that Thorin hates elves on a personal level. It was a good idea for the movie I suppose, but in reality (well, book-reality) such thing would be highly unlikely. The wood elves are every secluded and would not ever swear fidelity to Erebor. Ever. They would have nothing to gain from such alliance and they were under no threat of the dragon, because seriously, Smaug could not be less interested in an old forest. 
> 
> Some dialog is taken from The Hobbit and some I changed slightly to better fit the story.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Thaleth is not particularly happy about the situation.

**The Arrival**

By the time they reached the last homely house east of the sea, even though they were all skeptical of the name (“Elves have strange definitions of the word “house”; this could be a palace!” Nori burst out when they reached their destination), they had all joined Thorin in his foul mood.

As they had passed the narrow bridge the young elves still hidden had teased them restlessly (in particularly about their beards, which almost caused the less tempered of them to throw a boot at the faceless trees) to the point where Gandalf had to hush them. It was all well then, but little could be done to dampen the irritation – until they arrived at the house and immediately were invited to supper that is. It mattered little that their host and his other guests also were elves.

Amongst those other guests sat Thaleth although she was slightly uncertain what to think about this company.

Let it be known that Thaleth was an unusually open-minded elf considering her being a Sindar elf of Mirkwood, but that open-mindedness did not necessarily cover dwarves. They were curious creatures certainly, but Thaleth had not forgotten the coming of Smaug and the destruction of both Dale and Erebor nor the battle outside Moria that had followed. These specific dwarves were led by the heir of the same people that caused all of that and it did not sit well with her.

Elrond sat as always in the middle of the table, now with Gandalf by his right and Thorin by his left. Next to Thorin sat the youngest dwarves which Thaleth suspected must be his kin and next to them sat a Halfling, much to her surprise. Thaleth herself sat next to Daenir who sat next to Gandalf. She was not fully comfortable with sitting so high on the table, but Daenir was relentless in his pursuit and she had yielded despite herself.

“A star shines upon this hour,” Elrond began, “let us now eat, as I am sure our new guests are hungry!”

“Thank you for your hospitality, Lord Elrond” Thorin said regally, “me and mine are at your service.”

The elf-lord smiled, “And me and mine at yours! Well met, Thorin Oakenshield!”

“Ah perhaps proper introductions of the rest of the company are in order?” Gandalf suggested, but as the dwarves already lifting their forks glared at him he quickly added, “While we are eating of course!”

“Of course,” Thorin said, putting down his own fork to gesture slightly at his companions, “At first my nephews, Fili and Kili, beside them is the hobbit Bilbo Baggins then my cousins Balin and Dwalin, next we have Oin and Gloin and Bifur, Bofur and Bombur and finally Dori, Nori and Ori, at your service!”

The twelve dwarves all echoed their own “at your service” at their introduction before returning to their meal. Thaleth noted they had even worse table-manners than Asgaron and Elwion combined. “And me and my family, at yours!” Elrond replied accordingly, much to the dwarves’ pleasure. “These other guests are Daenir Dagnirion of Rivendell and Thaleth Lameniel of the Woodland Realm.”

At the mention of the Woodland Realm Thorin looked up again and looked at the red-haired elf-maiden, “You hail from Mirkwood?” he asked sardonically and naturally Thaleth gained an immediate dislike for the dwarf.

“That I do Master Dwarf” she replied casually and even gave him a polite smile, used to dealing with such slights, but the air changed. Daenir tensed slightly beside her and she could tell Lord Elrond also felt the small change in atmosphere. Amongst the dwarves only Balin seemed aware of his leader’s poor diplomacy skills whereas the others were busy eating and throwing food across the table to each other. In fact they barely spoke at all in their hurry to eat, unless it was too mock one another in friendly banter.

Before Thorin could say anything more however Gandalf interrupted him by coughing loudly, “oh forgive me my lords, and my lady, it had been rough day for an old man like me!”

“Are you unwell Mithrandir?” Thaleth asked concerned, and also happy to turn the subject away from herself, “is there anything you need?”

“No not at all Lady Thaleth!” Gandalf replied waving with his hand, “I am simply a bit weary!”

Elrond frowned, “then it is good you have arrived here today, where you can rest easily.”

“Yes indeed!” the wizard agreed happily, “but I always found music to be particularly relaxing, if that is something I may ask for?”

Soon the room was filled with the soft tunes of a flute and the supper continued and ended with everyone being content. The company was very tired after their journey and luckily, in Thaleth’s opinion at least, the supper was cut shorter than usual.

_“’A grand dinner’, Daenir can go and stuff his head into an orcs backside,”_ She muttered to herself as she walked back to her room. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was actually not particularly fond of this chapter myself, but I felt like I needed to include their arrival in Rivendell somehow and introduce them to Thaleth. I am actually surprised it was finished so quickly and I am pleased to say the next chapter (which originally was part of this one but didn't quite fit in) soon is ready as well!


	25. Chapter 25

**Sometime in the middle**

The next few days passed quickly and it was not that hard to avoid the band of dwarves. The only difference was that Lindir, the minstrel who had gotten the unfortunate job to entertain the guests with music during the fateful dinner, spent a whole lot more time in the library than usual. That did however not bother Thaleth the least. It was nice not to spend all time there alone and Lindir proved to be very good company as he knew many songs and stories which he enjoyed sharing.

It was nevertheless not possible to stay in one room constantly and Thaleth was much too used with being outside to be confined in one place for too long. In the end she left the library with her current book to read elsewhere not really caring anymore if she met one of the dwarves.

As she walked outside and felt the sun on her face it finally dawned to her that a whole season had passed since she came. Summer was already here and now that she thought about it midsummer was perhaps only a week away. She wondered what Asgaron was doing back home and _how_ he was doing. Ever since she had left a heavy weight had settled on her shoulders. She did not suffer from homesickness, but she was all too aware of the silent darkness that grew inside the forest and it was hard not to worry. Rivendell was a wonderful place, no evil came into the valley, but she wished she had come under better circumstances, a time when one could visit other settlements without fearing for the safety of one’s home.  

Sighing she dismissed her thoughts and continued walking until she reached a tree by the river and settled under its shadow. Calmly she opened the book and was just about to start reading the first poem when two feet appeared within her line of sight.

She looked up only to meet the gaze of Thorin Oakenshield’s halfling companion. Bilbo Baggins, was it? “Yes?”

“Good afternoon Lady Thaleth!” he smiled cheerfully and gave her a small bow.

Thaleth was a bit confused for a moment before she replied, “Good afternoon, Mister Baggins. Is there anything I can do for you?”

Bilbo hesitated a little before he sat down on the grass in front of her, he seemed a little nervous. “I was simply wondering Lady Thaleth…” he began tentative, “if maybe, by any chance, you have ever been to Erebor? Before the dragon incident of course…” he stopped for a moment becoming flustered before hurrying to add; “Not that you look old, certainly not, but I was simply curious because the woodland is fairly close!”

Thaleth blinked a few times in surprise at the hobbit before letting out an amused laugh. “I am not insulted, Mister Baggins,” she said with a smile, “compared to mortal lives, I am rather old.”

“Please call my Bilbo,” he said by reflex before repeating his question, “Then have you ever been to Erebor?” more eager than before, encouraged by her kind smile.

“Well then, Bilbo. I have never been to Erebor, no.” She said, and as she saw his face fall she added: “But I once journeyed to Dale; that is however the closest I have come.”

“It is still closer than I have ever been, Lady Thaleth,” Bilbo replied with a smile.

The implication did however wipe the smile off her own face, “Is that where you are going,” she asked, “to Erebor?”

The hobbit noticed her change in daemon and felt himself become a little insecure, but he answered the question nonetheless, “Well… yes, My Lady.”

Her inside turned cold at his words. Did the greed of dwarves really run so deep they would risk crossing a dragon for treasure? “I see,” was her only response.

Bilbo was uncertain how to continue and was nearly ready to take his leave, this fair elven maiden did not seem to be of the mood for company, but then he saw her book and smiled widely. “’Tom Bombadil’s Adventures’!” he chuckled, “I have not seen one of those since I was a wee lad!”

“You know of this book?” Thaleth asked surprised. Daenir had jokingly tossed it her way a few weeks ago after a brief visit to Bree while teasingly commenting her obsessive reading habits. She had not bothered to read it since it obviously was a children’s book and Daenir’s childish way of getting back to her for not coming with him.

“Well of course!” Bilbo exclaimed, “Who has not heard of Tom Bombadil!”

“It is a Hobbit tale then?” She guessed. It would make sense, she thought, since Bree was close to the Shire.

The Hobbit laughed, “He is certainly not a Hobbit tale, good gracious –he has been on far too many adventures for that, especially outside Buckland! But the Poem is certainly written by a hobbit.”

“Then where does it come from?”

“You mean the story?” Bilbo asked surprised, “I would imagine from him himself actually, he is a strange fellow that one, but as of who _wrote_ it all down I would assume it was a Bucklander –if that is your question.”

Thaleth stared at the hobbit in bewilderment, “Do you mean to say he is real?”

Now it was Bilbo’s turn to look baffled, “Of course he is real! My mother met him herself once in her youth when she got lost in the Old Forest, and she is neither the first nor the last as several of my Buckland relatives also have met him. Strange fellow, like I said, we always assumed he must be an elf of some kind – he has been around for an awfully long time.” he said thoughtfully, “Well either way I had better be going now, I promised Gandalf to have Afternoon tea with him! Good day Lady Thaleth, it was a pleasure speaking with you!”

“Likewise Mister Bilbo,” she replied kindly though she was relieved to see his retreating back.

When she was alone once more she closed her book and read the cover: _The Adventures of Tom Bombadil._ It was a very thin book containing only one poem handwritten in the Common Speech with large letters. Bilbo had certainly given her much to think about, and she was not sure she wished to be burdened with more thoughts.

Unable to concentrate on the book anymore she left her place under the tree and walked to the pavilion nearby, staring needlessly at the water flowing below it. What if the dragon awakened, would she be needed home? Thaleth was uncertain. Her king did not usually involve himself in matters outside his kingdom though and that was a great relief, but bad things always followed greed.

She sighed.

“I hope you are having brighter thoughts than I, Asgaron,” she murmured softly, “I will find my answers and then return home, I promise.”

The sound of her voice and promise was drenched by the sound of the running water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was rewritten more times than I remember and I almost thought this day would never come. I am sorry it took so long! 
> 
> Lindir is a minstrel, aka. a Bard. 
> 
> I would love to be friends with a Bard. Thaleth is a lucky lady. 
> 
> I would also like to thank all of you who has left kudos and comments for this work: you guys rock!   
> When I started this story I didn't actually think anyone would be interested in reading it, so even every hit I see just makes me extremely happy! 
> 
> The next chapter is... almost done! But I have learned I cannot make promises when it comes to updates but at least you can rest assured it will come eventually!
> 
> Also if you find any spelling or grammatical errors that hurt your eyes, please tell me!


	26. Chapter 26

You woke up to the sound of quiet laughter and you opened your eyes to see who it was. You quickly realized it was neither Asgaron nor Elwion, which matter of a fact had never happened before, so you were awfully curious.

Sitting up in the big tree chest you were met by the sight of two amused elves, but you only recognized one. The other left you confused terribly because he really reminded you of someone but he was not that person so…

”You are not the King,” You observed, “who are you?”

The elf smiled fondly in response and softly patted your head, “My name is Legolas, Little One.”

“Oh! I see,” your eyes lit up in recognition of the name, “you are the prince!”

“That I am,” Legolas laughed, “I am glad to finally make your acquaintance, Little Lady!”

“Me too, Elwion told me about you!” You shared happily, and then you turned to the golden haired elf that more than once had carried you from the wine cellar to Elwion, “I have never really seen you outside the cellar before, what is your name?”

The elf laughed heartily. His laughter was much fuller and less gracious than any of the other elves you had met and you decided you liked him, he seemed very straight forward.

“I am Galion, the King’s Butler, Little One,” he grinned and hunched down to her eyelevel, “and I must say I am much impressed by your uncanny sneaking skill. I do believe this is the first time anyone has ever been able to sneak into the armory undetected!”

Then he laughed again and helped you out of the chest. You did not think you had done anything particular at all, but his laughter was funny and you could not help but to giggle. “It was very comfortable there though,” you said and glanced back at the chest filled with tunics, “do you think I can come here again?”

“An armory is no place for a child Little One,” Legolas smiled apologetic, “but perhaps we can move a similar chest to your room?” he added quickly when he saw your face fall with disappointment.

Again your eyes lit up in excitement, “do you really think so?”

When Legolas nodded you giggled in delight and clapped your hands together.

Galion laughed loudly again and looked at you with great fondness, “What the little lady wants, the little lady gets!”

“May I have some pie then?” you asked cheekily, and Galion chuckled with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

“Nídhel is terribly stingy when it comes to her pies” he said dramatically, but then he got closer to her and whispered, “but with those sneak skills and my charm, I can promise you all pie you can hold!” he retreated from your ear and straighten up.

Legolas glanced at him with a brow raised but Galion only shrugged and smirked in response.

Nídhel would not even notice, and even if she did, what was she supposed to do? You were the sweetheart of the King’s Hall, not even the stern kitchen chief would have the heart to deny you some pies and it is not like she could blame him without any further proof.

Legolas cynical smile testified something different, but Galion chose to ignore it. They would not be discovered and you looked so remarkably joyful at the idea he decided he did not particularly care.

“Why were you sleeping now though?” Legolas asked curiously as they exited the armory. Whatever purpose they had had in the room had been postponed, “Elwion and Asgaron are outside preparing for the Midsummer feast in the glade and everyone’s spirit is high, are you certain you wish to miss it?”

Galion smiled broadly, “We can always gather pie another day, it is only Midsummer once a year after all. The sky is clear tonight and the air is warm, we should spend the night outside under the stars, like the old days!”

“That would be wonderful, would it not?” Legolas turned to you with a smile, but it turned to a frown when he saw your expression.

* * *

Wanweth stopped dead in her tracks at the mention of the open and clear sky and her small face winced as if in pain. She seemed to forget about the elves walking beside her and only felt how an uneasy feeling started to grow inside her. In her head her thoughts drifted away.

_Everything was clear and bright. Stars were shimmering and shining behind the light and you found great joy in them. They were your audience and you were happy to entertain them, you loved them._

“Wanweth?” Legolas concerned voice brought the girl back to reality.

Wanweth nodded slightly before starting to walk again but her steps were slow and careful, as if she were not quite as present as she had been only seconds before. “I like the stars,” she said absentmindedly, but her voice lacked the usual delight, “but I find little comfort in the sky.” her voice was stiff and both Legolas and Galion noticed the change in daemon with much worry.

“Why would you fear the sky?” the elven prince asked gently and hunched to her level. He soothingly caressed her cheek, but your eyes did not seem to notice him at all. They stared blankly into the empty corridor ahead.

Why did she fear the sky?

_It was peaceful and the wind was kind. You had since long lost sight of any other, but what did it matter? You were safe and the world was beautiful. You danced on._

“It is scary,” it was only a small whisper, “sometimes I miss it,” neither Legolas nor Galion dared to interrupt her. Her voice was frail and her eyes absent, “but then I see it.”

“What do you see?” Galion whispered painfully. It was frightening to so her small frame so still and her eyes so dead. Then she looked up and the elves nearly lost their breath at the untamed terror that danced in her eyes.

_You felt a slight chill in your being and for a moment you stopped dancing to look up in the sky. You felt uneasy, but you did not know why. Troubled you swirled higher up in the air to get a better view but that was when it devoured you._

“ _Darkness.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And some... dare I call it "plot"? 
> 
> I fear I might have plenty of spelling/grammar mistakes in these last few chapters, but I'm sort of blind to them I think. If you see something that makes you want to rip your hair out; let me know! 
> 
> Please let me know what you think! :)


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OVER 100 KUDOS??? I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN WITH HOW AMAZED I AM, THANK YOU! <3

_The sky was so very blue and everything so very bright._

_You felt peace and freedom and joy._

_Nothing could hurt you so high up in the air, dancing on the winds, until something did._

_You felt it before you saw it._

_You looked up._

_Terror struck you and the terrible darkness devoured all light and corrupted the wind._

_It suffocated you._

_It pushed you to the ground._

_You fell_

_And fell_

_And fell_

_And you screamed._

* * *

The whole hall was in an uproar.

It had been a normal day as far as preparations for Midsummer goes. Everyone was busy doing their assignment and most of them were outside preparing the glade for the big feast. It was always a joyful task and both the halls and the forest around it were filled with melodic chatter and delightful laughter.

It had all been interrupted when they heard your scream.

There was not one elf who did not hear it, and they felt it in the very core of their being. The horror that carried your voice through the gates of the hall was enough to put every elf in realm into a state of shock and terror. Elwion and several others became so overtaken they dropped everything they were holding and made for the hall and when the screaming suddenly stopped everyone was at loss as to what to do.

Elwion pushed himself into the hall and Asgaron was shortly after him. Inside they were met by a visibly shaken Malgelir that joined them in their search.

* * *

 

Deeper inside the hall Thranduil had immediately moved to the source of the sound. He was deeply distraught even though he hid it well. Behind him an equally distressed Beridhren marched but likewise the king, his face betrayed nothing.

They strode quickly through the halls and corridors until they reached the armory. There they were met by two obviously upset guards and a panic-stricken elf maiden from the kitchen. One of the guards held the maiden in a comforting embrace as the other addressed their king.

“Prince Legolas and Galion were with her,” he reported with a slightly shaken voice, “she ran away quicker than a mouse hunted by a cat! They followed her that way-…” he gestured to the right turn at the end of the corridor, “but I do not know what caused it.”

“That is fine,” Thranduil said, turning his gaze to the corridor, “I want everyone to stay calm, those who are unable to find peace shall remain in their homes until they do, is that understood Condir, Sídhon?”

The elf guards nodded in understanding, “Yes, Your Highness.”

Content with the order Thranduil now turned to the elf maiden. Her name was Milwen and he knew she was a gentle soul that was heavily plagued by the growing darkness. No doubt this occurrence did little to improve her already poor mind. Filled with compassion for this girl, one of the smallest of his people, he touched her head gently, “Sleep peacefully, little one,” he said softly, “and when you wake up, all will be well.”

The guard that had been embracing her tightened his grip around her as she went limp in his arms.

“Take her home to her parents,” the King commanded softly, “and do your best to help others like her.”

Then he swiftly turned around and marched on in search of you.

* * *

It did not take long for them to find Galion and Legolas, the two elves were however behaving in a most peculiar way. They stood in the middle of one of the mountain halls and gazed up the ceiling with worried expressions.

“Legolas,” Thranduil called out to his son, “what happened, where is Wanweth?”

Legolas turned at the sound of his name and his face softened with relief, though he still looked disturbed “She climbed the walls! I have never seen anything like it father, she moved swifter than a spider and disappeared into the crevice up over there,” he pointed at a relatively small crack in the wall, just where the ceiling began, “We have not seen her for a few minutes now, but it is only a crack, she must still be there.”

The King let his gaze rest on the crevice, it was too deep and dark to see from down below but he could still feel the weak and terrified presence of his mysterious guest. How did it come to this?

“We simply asked her why she was afraid of the sky,” Galion said, and he sounded guilty, “had I known her fear ran that deep, I never would have thought to bring it up.”

“It is not your fault my friend, it was I that insisted on asking,” Legolas sighed and grasped Galion’s shoulder. “She carries many secrets; we simply stumbled upon one of them on accident.”

“Yes, that is so,” Thranduil agreed, “let us not wallow in such thoughts –What has happened has happened. She cannot stay there however,” he turned to Beridhren, “I believe Elwion will be necessary in this quest, and perhaps a ladder of some kind.”

Beridhren nodded but gestured for Galion to follow him before he left to fulfill his king’s unspoken demand.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuses, as always, but I'm sorry it took this long. I think this is the longest wait for a chapter up until know, but I don't plan to beat that record again. I'm starting to realize this will take more chapters than previously thought, especially since I like to keep them short, but I don't mind. It's nice to have something to write on when I have nothing else to do, but the problem is I currently (as you might have guessed) have A LOT to do, which is why the updates are so slow. Sorry. The incoming kudos made me very motived however, and that's how this chapter finished. I will make an effort to write more!


	28. Chapter 28

” _I_ _know you are there.”_

_…_

_”who are you?”_

_…_

_”Will you not show yourself?”_

_…_

_”Still hiding?”_

_…_

_”I feel no_ _ill intent from you, you need not fear me.”_

_…_

_”Will you not come out of there?”_

_…_

_”I will not force you, do not fear me.”_

_…_

_”I can help you out, you are safe”_

_”Can you see me? I am not that_ _scary am I?”_

_”You are safe, I swear it.”_

_”There there, you have nothing to fear, I will keep you safe, little one.”_

“You are safe Wanweth, I swear it,” Elwion ensured her once again.

Finally she reacted. The silent wagging back and forth stopped and she looked up from her knees, eying him intensely, as if she only just now noticed him.

Filled with new courage he continued, “I will keep you safe, Wanweth, you have nothing to fear.”

Seconds ticked slowly as she watched him, not moving an inch.

Just as he thought he might have to add something more she suddenly emerged from the dark hole. Slightly stunned at her sudden action he let her embrace him. He felt a great relief at the feel of her arms around his neck, she would be back to normal soon.

“There there, I got you,” he whispered softly and held a steady arm around her as he climbed down the ladder.

She didn’t answer, but fell asleep in his arms before they reached the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive!! and terribly sorry. I've had one of those "my writing is bad and I should feel bad", but then the kudos kept coming and I realized that it doesn't really matter. I like my story (even though I hate my writing) and will keep writing it, and as long as you guys are somewhat enjoying it I will keep publishing it here :) thanks for the support :*  
> I'm sorry it's so short, but it's kind of important. The next will be longer, probably. ehe.


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